Royal Liverpool Hospital declares critical incident over soaring flu cases

A major hospital has declared a critical incident following a surge in flu and other respiratory illnesses across the region.

Royal Liverpool Hospital declared the incident due to “exceptionally high demand” over patients being admitted to emergency services wards.

It comes after it was reported patients were facing waits of up to 50 hours at the hospital’s emergency department.

A critical incident is declared after a hospital temporarily or permanently loses the ability to deliver critical services or where patients have been harmed - requiring support from other agencies, according to NHS England.

A University Hospitals of Liverpool Group spokesperson said: “We have seen an increasing number of people with flu and respiratory illnesses in our emergency departments in recent weeks.

“Given the exceptionally high demands on our Emergency Department, especially with flu and respiratory illnesses, and the number of patients, we have taken this action to support the safe care and treatment of our patients, which is our absolute priority.”

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Source: The Independent, 7 January 2025