Nottinghamshire Health and Care System under significant pressure and continues to declare a critical incident

A critical incident continues to be declared across the health and care system in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to help prioritise and maintain safe services for patients. 

We continue to work with partners to ensure that everything possible is being done to manage the pressure and that our patients receive the care that they need.

Health bosses wrote an open letter to the public on Friday 30 December 2022 urging people to help us to avoid local services from being overwhelmed and we continue to ask people to use NHS services wisely.

Staff across the health and care system are working tirelessly to provide the best possible standards of care whilst the system is under so much pressure and difficult decisions are having to be made to help free up capacity that is needed to focus on our sickest patients.

Hospital Trusts have already had to take decisions to temporarily postpone some elective care treatments, so that we can dedicate our clinical resources to those requiring urgent and emergency care and those who are acutely ill. This decision has not been taken lightly and patients affected will be contacted directly by the hospital trusts with an assurance that their treatment will be rescheduled at the earliest opportunity.

We will continue to prioritise patients in order of clinical need to ensure that we can continue to manage emergency care.  We are working hard to protect planned appointments and operations for patients who have an urgent need or have already waited a long time for their procedure.  If you are not contacted directly, please continue to attend your appointment for all services and continue to call 999 where there is a threat to life.

The NHS is open for business and is here for people who need us, but we are asking members of the public to support us in a number of important ways so that we can maximise our capacity and resources across the health and care system.

What members of the public can do to help:

• Only call 999 or attend A&E departments for serious accidents and for genuine emergencies.
• When you need urgent medical care but it’s not an emergency, please visit NHS 111 online or call NHS111 for advice on how to get the care you need at any time of day or night.
• Urgent treatment centres – like the ones on London Road in Nottingham, Newark Hospital and Ilkeston Community Hospital – can help you get the care you need for dealing with the most common issues that people attend emergency departments for. They will often be able to help you get the care you need more quickly than accident and emergency departments if you are suffering from things like a burn or a sprain.
• For other non-urgent cases, when you need medical advice and it’s not an emergency, please speak to your GP practice or a pharmacist – see details of your local pharmacy here: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy
• Flu and Covid-19 are currently circulating in the community, so stay at home if you have symptom and get your jabs if you are eligible. More details about how to get your flu and Covid-19 jab can be found here – Flu vaccine – NHS (www.nhs.uk) and here https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/how-to-get-a-coronavirus-vaccine/
• Anyone who is in mental health distress should call the Mental Health Crisis Line: 0808 196 3779 – the helpline is open 24 hours a day.
• We know that most patients want to return home as soon as possible, especially at this time of year. If your relative is due to be discharged from hospital and needs to be collected, please do so as early as possible. This will help our teams and free up a hospital bed for someone waiting to be admitted.

Support loved ones who are ready to leave hospital by doing six simple things:

• Bring clothes for leaving hospital
• Arrange access to their home or place they call home and to check on heating and food
• Check transport arrangements
• Ensure they have any dressings or equipment they need
• Confirm any follow up appointments
• Check for valuables and belongings when leaving.