A Surrey hospital has stepped down its Critical Incident after three days. On Thursday, January 2 the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust announced that East Surrey Hospital was facing a ‘critical’ situation.
This was brought about by a boom in demand and winter viruses which placed strain on the service. Patients with non-life-threatening conditions were therefore asked to use other NHS services such as 111 online, their local pharmacies or their GP.
On Saturday, January 4 the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust confirmed that the Critical Incident had been stood down. Teams across the Trust and the system were thanked for their hard work to bring the situation under control.
A spokesperson for Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust said: “Thanks to the extraordinary measures we have taken and the hard work of our teams over the last 48 hours, we are now able to step down from Critical Incident to Business Continuity – which ensures we can continue to take the necessary steps to support patient care. Our services however remain very busy, and work continues to address the ongoing challenges we are seeing across our East Surrey site from winter viruses and increased demand.
“We therefore continue to ask the public to consider the best NHS service for their needs – using 111, pharmacies, GPs and urgent treatment centres or minor injury units for non-urgent medical help, and only attending the Emergency Department if you are seriously ill or your condition is life-threatening.” As winter viruses such as Flu and Norovirus remain prevalent at this time of year, visitors to East Surrey Hospital have been asked to follow some additional infection control measures.
To help prevent the spread of illnesses, visitors are urged to practice good hand-hygiene, reduce their movement around the site, and wear masks in clinical areas. The Trust adds: “If you have symptoms associated with respiratory conditions, including COVID-19 and flu, we ask that you do not visit our hospital unless you are a patient with a booked appointment which you should still attend.”
