The Queen Elizabeth Hospital is appealing to patients to only come to A&E if absolutely necessary after seeing significant numbers of patients in recent days.
Medical director Tim Petterson said “We continue to experience extremely high demand for our services with high numbers of acutely ill patients arriving at A&E in recent days. Today, we remain under substantial pressure and we are appealing to the public for help.
“We are continuing to work with our partners across the health and social care system to manage this spike in demand, in particular looking for appropriate community care options for those patients who are now medically fit for discharge.
“At this time I cannot express strongly enough the importance for the public to choose the appropriate care options. We would never deter anyone from seeking medical treatment but do ask people to first dial NHS 111 for advice or consider other options for minor ailments. Comprehensive advice can be found on the internet by visiting www.nhs.uk/staywell or the Choose Me Not A&E website, www.choosemenotaande.co.uk.
“I must also remind the public that people who have experienced diarrhoea or vomiting in the past 48 hours must not visit the hospital unless it is a medical emergency, this is to prevent Norovirus entering the hospital.
“I would also that wherever possible, visitors refrain from coming to our hospital today and over the coming weekend whilst we focus on managing the high demand for our services.
“Anyone who does visit the hospital is asked to ensure they wash their hands when entering and visitors to wards are asked to report to the nurse in charge upon arrival.”
“Patient safety of course remains our top priority and our staff continue to make all efforts to ensure the continued smooth operation of our hospital during this exceptionally busy period.”
—ENDS—
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