Walsgrave Hospital cancels operations and appointments as surge in patients strains services

[dutchman]

Appointments have been cancelled at University Hospital in Coventry today and tomorrow after a surge of patients strained NHS services.



The hospital has warned patients to assume their appointments and operations have been cancelled unless they have been contacted by staff. Only planned cancer surgery is expected to continue.

Outpatient clinics and walk-in blood tests will also be unavailable.

Hospital bosses have urged patients to seek alternative care for problems which are not life-threatening.

A hospital spokesman said the “difficult decisions” had been made due to a very busy period in the accident and emergency department which saw more than 500 people attend the department yesterday.

The hospital normally deals with around 450 A and E patients a day, but staff said the problems had been caused by the nature of the illnesses and injuries people had suffered rather than the numbers.

It was also confirmed the surge of patients is not down to an outbreak of any particular illness.

Andy Hardy, the hospital’s chief executive officer, said: “The hospital is currently experiencing a high amount of very sick patients which is putting the hospital under a considerable amount of pressure.

“We saw over 500 people in our A and E yesterday and of these dozens waited more than four hours.

"Since midnight many others have waited longer than four hours and we currently have more than 60 in the department.

“There are many additional patients in the trust who don’t need to be in hospital, but there are no spaces in the community for them due to the pressure being seen across the whole system.

“At this exceptional time we need the support of our community – please consider using NHS 111, GPs, pharmacists or walk in centres before coming to A and E.”

The public have been asked to consider alternatives rather than attend A and E.

If people need medical help fast but it’s not life threatening or they’re not sure where to go, they should consider accessing GPs, pharmacists, the walk-in centre or calling 111.

Trained operators on 111 will assess you and direct you to the best placed service in your area.

The service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and calls are free from landlines and mobile phones.

If patients are unsure of what services are in their local area, they can search on the NHS website

And this is only a mild winter!

[Melisandre]

Then Coventry council wants to encourage more people in to the city to live with building thousands of houses when our services cant cope now.

[rebbonk]

Spot on Melisandre.

[Melisandre]

Thank you Rebbonk I suppose its one way of our Council and governments of cutting down the population they don't want here which are the weak and infirm survival of the fittest comes to mind.

[dutchman]

University Hospital Coventry crisis caused by 'perfect storm' says MP



Problems which led to University Hospital Coventry asking patients to stay away were the result of a “perfect storm” according to a Coventry MP.

Colleen Fletcher, Labour MP for Coventry North East, said she believed Conservative government cuts had driven a number of factors which had come together to cause a surge of patients that overwhelmed the hospital’s accident and emergency department.

On Wednesday, officials asked patients to seek alternative care for non-life threatening conditions and cancelled all non-cancer surgery and most outpatient clinics.

Normal service is expected to resume on this afternoon.

Mrs Fletcher said: “I spoke to the hospital’s chief executive this morning and he said the decision was taken to relive pressure and ensure safety for everyone. A&E was so overwhelmed it needed the support staff from elsewhere.

“What’s happened is a perfect storm of things coming together. There are problems there with adult social care, and having somewhere else for elderly people to go - there isn’t anywhere.

“I was told there were in excess of 150 people who didn’t need to be there at the weekend, so it is also about educating people. But there needs to be somewhere else for them to go.

“There’s a crisis in adult social care. Money has been taken away by the government for many years now.”

She added: “The blame lies at the feet of the government. They know about the crisis in adult social care.

“The cuts in Coventry mean we don’t have places for people to go anymore. The NHS needs to be funded properly in order to be a modern day health service.”

Mrs Fletcher added that she hoped to raise the issues at University Hospital Coventry with the Prime Minister in Parliament.

[rebbonk]

Perfect storm my ar$e! It's nothing short of incompetence on the part of those that are paid to ensure these things don't happen.

[dutchman]

I'm just wondering what would happen if the long-threatened "snowmaggedon" had struck the UK?

[Melisandre]

You would have to make sure your in another town out side of Coventry Dutchman

They keep on about the elderly taking up time in A&E what about the young and students who get paralytic and need A&E or having to take on other towns to.

[dutchman]

'Clearly something wrong' Health watchdog on Coventry University Hospital crisis

A Coventry health watchdog has raised serious concerns in the wake of University Hospital’s drastic measures to cope with a surge of patients.

The hospital is urging people to avoid A&E and seek alternative care for conditions which were not life threatening.

All non-cancer surgery and outpatient appointments were also cancelled yesterday and today by the hospital as beds filled up.

Healthwatch Coventry’s chief officer Ruth Light said there was “clearly something wrong in the system” if the hospital had to turn people away.

She said: “The hospital is saying it’s full, essentially there are too many people for it to be able to deal with - that is really regrettable.

“We have a really big teaching hospital here in Coventry which provides a lot of specialist services.

“Clearly something is wrong in the system if it means a hospital that size can get to a point it really can’t take anybody else.

“We feel for the people who have had their operations cancelled, they have probably been waiting for some time.”

Ms Light said if there was a simple reason or solution for the problem facing the hospital it would probably have been identified.

She said: “Different NHS organisations have been coming together over a period of months to look at the flow of people and what could be done to make discharge arrangements work better so beds are freed up.

“New initiatives have been put in place, unfortunately it doesn’t seem to have led to a solution.”

At this time of year everything is put to the test in what’s called “winter pressures” said Ms Light.

But she added it was the first time she had known University Hospital under this level of strain.

She said: “It isn’t the only hospital that experiences these kind of pressures. It’s the first time in my memory working at Healthwatch and prior to Healthwatch where it has got to this stage.”

• Healthwatch Coventry has an information service on 02476 252 011. It gives advice on the NHS and social care as well as helping people raise any concerns.

[dutchman]

Accident and emergency departments still under pressure in Coventry and Warwickshire

People across Coventry and Warwickshire are being urged to only use accident and emergency services if they really need them as pressure on hospitals continues.

The call comes as hospitals in the region, and across the UK, struggle to cope with high numbers of people coming through the doors of A&E departments.

George Eliot in Nuneaton, University Hospital in Coventry and Warwick Hospital are all being forced to deal with large numbers of patients - putting significant pressure on the region’s health system.

Just last week University Hospital urged patients to stay away after they were hit by a surge in demand.

Coventry and Rugby Clinical Commissioning Group has pointed to the fact as many as one in four people who go to A&E could care for themselves or use alternative treatment.

Minor injuries can be treated at local health centres such as the one opposite the Swanswell.