An additional 9 beds have been made available at St Mary’s Hospital this week as it comes under increasing pressure, with efforts being taken to bring a resolve to the situation which has seen a ‘black alert’ issued internally.
The way in which Island residents are using the Emergency Department in Newport is having a challenging impact on resources and is resulting in an increase in demand on the hospital’s front door services. Alongside this, the hospital have a number of people who are delayed in leaving their care for various reasons, which are said to be complex.
Earlier this week the Isle of Wight NHS Trust said a total of 135 patients had been admitted to St Mary’s in just a 10 hour period compared to the expected 125 in a 24 hour period. The surge in admissions mixed with delays in discharging patients has resulted in the hospital being placed on black alert – the highest level of concern which means a number of actions are taken in order to meet the increase in demand.
A spokesperson for Isle of Wight NHS Trust has told Island Echo:
“We currently have 34 patients who are medically fit to be discharged from hospital, some of which need assessments for residential care home placements, a number require specialist care and other care packages which can take time to agree and put in place. We have a small number of patients that need to be transferred to mainland hospitals. Our options to move these patients are limited.
“We are continuing to work with colleagues across health and social care to try and find a solution to the problem”.
A small number of routine planned operations have been cancelled, however the hospital is reassuring Islanders that all urgent cancer patients will continue to be seen.
If appropriate, patients should consider using alternative healthcare services, such as GPs, the free NHS 111 advice line, and pharmacies for non-urgent medical advice.
