Internal critical incident declared at Northamptonshire's hospitals to address concerns caused by demand

The internal critical incident at Northampton and Kettering General Hospitals, which is currently ongoing, is different to a critical incident, such as the system wide one that was declared at the start of this month and included all of the county’s health services, as well as EMAS.

However, a internal critical incident is still declared in response to high demand and is a way for hospital staff to manage pressures.

On Tuesday (January 28), NGH posted on social media that the hospital was experiencing “very high” demand for emergency and urgent care. Hospital bosses have now confirmed an internal critical incident has been declared so internal actions can be escalated to address key concerns caused by demand pressures.

UHN Group Medical Director, Hemant Nemade, said: “Declaring an incident assists us in taking escalated internal actions with the support of our partners to address the key concerns caused by demand pressures.

“We urge local people not to attend our emergency departments at this time if their concerns can be dealt with by other local health services.

“If you have a relative in hospital who is ready to go home please help us to support their discharge as soon as possible and enable beds to be freed-up for those who are seriously ill.“

Patients are being urged to think carefully before attending A&E or dialling 999 and are asked to only do so in a real life-threatening emergency. Alternatives to attending emergency departments (A&Es) include services such as pharmacy, NHS 111, and Corby Urgent Care Centre.

Hospital bosses also asked patients to not attend hospital if they have flu-like or diarrhoea and vomiting symptoms. In most cases these are better treated at home.