Hospital stands down critical incident over hot weather

A Surrey hospital has stood down a critical incident declared due to high demand on its emergency care services, exacerbated by high temperatures.

East Surrey Hospital in Redhill was forced to reschedule some non-urgent appointments to accommodate patients with the most urgent clinical need, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust said.

Dr Ed Cetti, chief medical officer at the trust, said that services remained busy with "continued high levels of demand".

"We therefore continue to urge our local community to utilise other NHS services such as 111 and only use the emergency department for life-threatening emergencies to ensure care is available for those who need it most," he said.

The public are also advised to support the discharge of loved ones who are ready to be sent home as quickly as possible, as the hospital had challenges releasing patients during the incident.

Patients are encouraged to continue to attend outpatient and other hospital appointments unless contacted by the trust to reschedule.

"Thank you to our staff, partners and local community for their continued support and understanding as our teams worked around the clock to maintain safe services for everyone who needs our care, especially in the exceptionally high temperatures," Cetti added.

A critical incident is declared when a service is under extreme pressure that threatens a hospitals ability to deliver safe and effective care.

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