Major trust diverts ambulances and cancels electives after covid surge

One of England’s largest hospital trusts has been forced to divert ambulances and cancel operations, after seeing a very steep increase in covid-19 admissions over the past week.

Whipps Cross Hospital in north east London, part of Barts Health Trust, declared a critical incident over the weekend, the trust has confirmed. The trust has also declared a “high pressure phase” of covid response.

A well placed source said Whipps Cross had been forced to divert ambulances in recent days, because of pressure on its emergency services, while a message to staff said it was deferring some planned operations, along with other steps aimed at protecting safety.

It is also understood to be attempting to further speed up discharges from hospital.

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Source: HSJ, 16 December 2020