System Critical Incident continues in Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

Residents of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are being thanked for their ongoing support as a system critical incident, declared on Friday evening, continues. 

With winter bugs, including flu, impacting on patients and staff, health and care services continue to be busy.  Over the last month there have been almost four times as many hospital inpatients with flu compared to a year ago.

Staff are working tirelessly to provide care based on peoples’ clinical need and this may mean redirecting people who come to the emergency department to alternative services if is more suitable for them to be treated elsewhere.

Local residents are being asked to make use of their local pharmacy, GP practice and minor injury unit services for minor illness or injury so that the hospitals can be kept available for the people who need it the most.

Working with local GP practices, extra same day GP appointments are available to local people to book via their GP practice at central primary care hub locations across Cornwall. Over 800 extra appointments are available this week, with over 18,000 extra same day urgent GP appointments provided already between December 2023 and November 2024.

People with a friend or family member ready to leave hospital can speak to staff on the ward about the range of support available, including one off grants, to cover additional costs personal care or equipment which could help a person get home from hospital sooner.

Anyone with symptoms of an infectious illness such as flu, Covid-19 or norovirus is urged to stay at home, have plenty of rest and hot drinks and to use over the counter medicines to ease their symptoms. Regular hand washing can also help prevent the spread of winter bugs.

What is a critical incident?

A system critical incident is called in the NHS when health and care services are so busy that special measures are needed to restore normal operations and to keep people safe.  The NHS in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly called a system critical incident on Friday evening (3 Jan)

Why was it called?

The system critical incident was called due to continued pressure on our health and care services, particularly Cornwall’s main hospital at Treliske and on the emergency department.

Our hospitals and our staffing have been impacted by the current surge in flu cases as well as by other winter bugs.

What is the NHS doing in response?

During a system critical incident the NHS takes steps such as opening more beds, arranging for extra staff to come into work, reducing non-clinical activities such as standing down meetings, and getting additional support from other services

Dr Chris Reid, Chief Medical Officer for NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board said: “Over the last month we have seen almost four times as many hospital inpatients with flu as we did a year ago. Calling a system critical incident allows us to stand down non urgent work and focus on seeing more patients in our primary care hubs, getting people home from hospital and helping keep them from needing to be admitted.

“I want to thank all of our hardworking colleagues across the health and care system who work tirelessly all year round but are under particular pressure when our services are so busy.”

How are we helping to keep people from needing to visit the emergency department?

The NHS supports frail and older people in their own homes with a Right Care car, X-ray car and Falls car, which can attend people who have had a fall or who are unwell instead of them being taken by ambulance to the emergency department.

If people need more support and monitoring they may be taken to our same day emergency care units or our community assessment and treatment units where they can be monitored and have any tests and treatment they need before coming home the same day or the following day.  We can also monitor and care for people in their own home through virtual wards either instead of a hospital stay or to help them come home.

We have invested in a wide range of community support services that help people to stay well and in their own homes and in primary care hubs that provide on the day appointments through GP practices.

We ask the public to consider using the wide range of alternatives to the emergency department, including our network of minor injury units and our urgent treatment centre (check the waiting times and opening hours online), NHS111 online or on the phone, their own GP and local pharmacies.

How else can people help?

• If you have a friend or family member in hospital please help them to come home as soon as they are ready. Talk to the ward staff about the support available to help them be discharged, including one off grants.
• If you have any symptoms of a winter bug such as flu or norovirus please stay at home, particularly avoid people who are more vulnerable such as hospital patients or care home residents.
• There is lots of Stay Well winter wellbeing advice on our website and social media on how you can care for yourself or a loved one at home with winter bugs and other conditions and how to reduce the spread of these bugs
• If you don’t have symptoms of an infectious bug and you have an appointment do please attend unless you are contacted.
• If you do have a life threatening emergency we want to reassure you that our emergency services are available and ask you to continue to use them