Under-pressure hospitals declare critical incident
BBCA critical incident has been declared at two hospitals in Staffordshire, because of "exceptional pressure" on services.
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust said both the Royal Stoke University Hospital and County Hospital had seen a high number of patients requiring care.
It also said there had been delays in discharging patients and "significant pressure" on ambulance services.
As a result, it said it would be "prioritising urgent and emergency treatment" and redeploying staff to support those areas.
The trust said the pressure was "impacting our ability to move patients through our hospitals safely and as quickly as we would like" and to provide safe care.
Last week it said hospital operating theatres, testing labs and MRI scanners were being affected by the extreme temperatures.
It said those services were "unable to operate at normal capacity in the heat and humidity" and some outpatient appointments were being postponed and rescheduled.
The trust encouraged people to consider using NHS 111, their local pharmacy, GP services, or walk-in centres, if their condition was not life threatening.
It said emergency departments should only be used for serious or life-threatening conditions.
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