An incident was declared on January 4
Arrowe Park Hospital(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
A critical incident has been declared at a Wirral NHS hospital trust for the second time in a week. Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said it was similar to the incident that was declared on January 4 over high numbers of flu cases.
An email sent to staff just after 1pm on January 8 by the trust which manages Arrowe Park and Clatterbridge Hospitals 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.”
On January 8, a critical incident was also declared at the Royal Liverpool Hospital. The Liverpool Echo also reported an 88 year-old woman faced a 24 hour wait in the back of five parked ambulances before getting into A&E at Whiston Hospital.
In 2024, a critical incident was declared on October 11 at Wirral University Teaching Hospital due to demand. In November, a major incident was declared following a cyber incident affecting services for several days.
After the incident declared on January 4 was stood down two days later, a spokesperson for the Trust said: “The Trust experienced unprecedented demand for our urgent and emergency services last week resulting in a large number of patients requiring hospital admission, including a high number of flu cases.“To ensure we maintained patient safety, a critical incident was declared at the Trust on Saturday. A robust plan of action was put in place and the incident was stood down on Monday.
“However, our Emergency Department remains busy and people may experience a longer wait while we prioritise those in most urgent need of care. We would ask people to only attend the Emergency Department if they have a genuine emergency. For less urgent needs, people can contact 111, visit a walk-in centre, urgent treatment centre or contact a GP. Pharmacies can also offer assistance for many minor illnesses.”
T
he hospital has remained under pressure over the winter period with the situation previously being described as a challenge by health bosses. At a Wirral Council adult health and social care meeting in October 2024, Dr Nikki Stevenson, executive medical director at the trust, said the trust was drawing up plans to create capacity and they were anticipating an increase in respiratory viruses.
She said visits had been made by NHS England to look at the emergency department because Wirral had seen a 20% increase in ambulances transporting people to hospital, adding, “No other hospital has seen that so there’s something that’s going on there so we’re just trying to understand what it is.” Wirral University Teaching Hospital was approached for comment.