Abstract blur of a hospital interior.
Hospitals in the U.K.’s Midlands temporarily declared ‘critical incidents’ last week as Covid-19 continues to hit the country’s health service.
Facilities across the county announced they were under ‘unprecedented’ pressure earlier this week, as staff shortages and increased demand stretched services.
Hospitals in Derby previously recently announced similar measures as pressures increased.
Hospital leaders in Nottinghamshire said: “Across the system, we are continuing to see significant levels of Covid-19 in hospitals, high numbers of patients needing care for other conditions, alongside extended waiting times for patients for hospital beds.
“This paired with difficulties in discharging patients due to a lack of capacity across the care sector as well as staff absence due to Covid-19, is causing significant strain on the system.”
Although the announcement was temporary, it gives an indication of how much pressure England’s health service is currently facing.
Although many services are under strain, ambulance and emergency services are particularly stretched, and have been as pressures have grown in recent months.
Elective waiting lists are also at historically high levels as patients wait longer than ever for routine care.
Demand for services has grown as the pandemic has waned. And the health service is still affected by Covid-19 related staff absence.
Many patients are now presenting with more acute needs than before the pandemic, as they have previously refrained from seeking care.
But hospitals have been able to make some improvements against massive waiting lists for both elective care and cancer care, in the face of extreme pressures.
Dr Layla McKay, director of policy at industry body NHS Confederation, said earlier this month: ‘Health leaders and staff deserve to be proud of the fact that the NHS delivered 2.1 million diagnostic tests in May — the highest ever figure for that month.
“Since February, when a plan for recovering elective services was first published, the number of people waiting more than two years for elective surgery has fallen by more than 80%.
“The NHS has also made vital progress restoring cancer services. In May, over 242,000 people were seen for urgent cancer checks and almost 30,000 people began cancer treatment.
“However, the NHS is not on a linear and certain path to full recovery. High demand and systemic challenges faced by our health service may continue to frustrate efforts to provide the best possible care to patients.”