What is the current situation at the William Harvey Hospital in Kent?

The William Harvey Hospital in Kent has declared a critical incident due to exceptionally high patient numbers and full beds, leading to limited capacity for urgent care.

What are the reasons for the critical incident at the Kent hospital?

The hospital is dealing with a surge in winter illnesses and respiratory viruses, resulting in full beds across all trust sites and very high emergency department attendance.

What should people do if they have a non-life-threatening condition in Kent?

For non-life-threatening conditions, people in Kent are advised to use NHS 111, their GP, a pharmacy, or an urgent treatment centre, as emergency departments may have extremely long waits.

Home / Health / Kent Hospital Declares Critical Incident

Kent Hospital Declares Critical Incident

4 Feb

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Summary

Hospital faces exceptionally high patient numbers requiring urgent care.
Beds are full across all trust sites, with high emergency department volumes.
Non-life-threatening conditions may experience extremely long waits.

Kent Hospital Declares Critical Incident

A critical incident has been declared at East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust, specifically at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, due to an overwhelming number of patients requiring care. The trust cited a surge in winter illnesses and respiratory viruses contributing to full hospital beds across all its sites and extremely high emergency department attendance.

Limited capacity for urgent hospital care means individuals with non-life-threatening conditions face potentially very long waits. The trust is advising the public to utilize NHS 111, their GP, pharmacy, or urgent treatment centres instead of A&E. Families are also asked to facilitate the speedy discharge of relatives ready to leave hospital to free up beds.

Under the critical incident status, teams are prioritizing the safe discharge of patients and aiming to reduce avoidable admissions. This declaration allows the trust to access additional support from across the health system to manage the intense pressure on urgent and emergency services. Planned procedures are under review, but patients should assume they are proceeding unless otherwise notified.