Critical incident declaration - emergency department under severe pressure

Updated Wednesday 1 July

Today University Hospital Southampton has moved out of a critical incident, but work continues to manage sustained pressure on our services.

We are unfortunately still seeing significantly long waiting times for patients who are coming to our adult Emergency Department (ED), and we are prioritising those whose condition is life threatening. We are also maintaining our focus on getting patients who can move out of our hospital, discharged as quickly and safely as possible.

This means that although we are no longer in a critical incident we are still using our incident framework to continue to manage our services safely.

We are therefore continuing to ask for our community to support us by;

• Choosing the right service: only attend our ED for life-threatening injuries or illnesses. If you need urgent medical advice but it is not an emergency, please use NHS 111 online, visit a local community pharmacy, urgent treatment centre or contact your GP practice.

• Helping us free up beds for those who need them: families of loved ones who are in our hospital can help us do that by coming to get their relatives if they are ready to go home, a patient leaving us a few hours earlier in the day means we can admit another patient who is waiting to go to a ward sooner.

We are able to help support with discharges by providing clothing or food parcels as well as delivery of medicines and equipment, so please talk to our ward staff if these are things that are stopping loved ones coming out of hospital.

As we go through the next few days and into forecasted warmer weather, we are trying to do everything possible to help prepare our services and support our staff who have been working with professionalism and dedication in very challenging circumstances.

We are committed to returning services to normal as soon as we can, as we know the impact that cancelled appointments and disruption to our services causes. We are grateful to our local community for their patience, support and understanding while we manage this exceptional level of demand. Your cooperation has made a difference - thank you.

Updated Monday 29 June

UHS remains in a critical incident tonight as we continue to see significant numbers of people coming to our emergency department for medical attention.

Our hospitals are currently full and we are prioritising the most clinically urgent patients.

Waiting times have remained at approximately 12 hours throughout today. If you come to the ED tonight, you will not be seen unless your condition is life or limb threatening.

Patients are being asked to wait alone wherever possible due to the high numbers of people in the department. We will take action against anyone who is aggressive or abusive to our staff, who are doing their best in very difficult circumstances.

Thank you - we appreciate your patience and support.

Updated Thursday 25 June

University Hospital Southampton has this afternoon declared a critical incident due to the ongoing extreme heat, which is placing significant pressure on our services. The high temperatures are affecting some of our systems and critical clinical services, including theatres and diagnostic imaging.

As a result, we have cancelled a number of planned operations as well as some outpatient appointments.

Our priority is patient safety and the welfare of our staff and we are asking for the public’s support during this time.

We have introduced temporary visitor restrictions to support our staff on the wards and keep the environment safe and comfortable for all. Please check with ward staff and keep numbers to a maximum of two per bedside.

Our Emergency Department (ED) is under extreme pressure but is here for people in a life-threatening emergency. Our clinical leaders are actively redirecting people whose conditions are not deemed an emergency to other services in the community.

Anyone attending ED is asked to help us by coming alone where possible, so we can keep numbers to a minimum in our waiting room.

You can also support us by collecting loved ones promptly once they are ready to leave hospital, helping to free up beds for those who need them urgently.

We would like to thank our staff for their hard work and local community for their continued understanding and support during this challenging period. By working together, we can help ensure our services remain safe and available for those who need them most.