Wirral University Hospital Trust declares critical incident for second time in a week

In an email sent to staff members on Wednesday (January 8), a spokesperson for the Wirral University Teaching Hospital Trust, which manages Arrowe Park and Clatterbridge, said: “Staff are advised that due to unprecedented demand for our urgent and emergency services, the trust has today declared a critical incident.

“Similar to the situation last week, the high demand has culminated in significant volumes of patients requiring admission, the levels of which require the Trust to declare a critical incident to maintain patient safety. We have robust plans in place to maintain safety of our patients and we appreciate the huge amount of support from staff at this time.”

The trust previously declared a critical incident on Saturday (January 4), however, this was stood down on Monday morning (January 6).

A critical incident was also declared at The Royal Liverpool University Hospital on Tuesday (January 7), with the University Hospitals of Liverpool Group stating it was facing rising numbers of patients with flu and other respiratory illnesses.

Hospitals have seen a quadrupling of hospital flu cases across England in just a month, with patients at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital’s Emergency Department reportedly facing waits of more than 50 hours to be seen earlier this week, and many being treated in corridors.