Emergency patients endure 12 hour wait at Southampton General Hospital

Patients are facing waits of longer than 12 hours at an emergency department where hospital chiefs have claimed to have never seen it so busy, and have urged anyone with non-life or non-limb threatening injuries to go to urgent treatment centres instead.

Dr Trevor Smith, deputy chief medical officer, said the situation was “extreme”.

The news comes after the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth declared a critical incident due to staff sickness and the strain of the prolonged hot weather, and South Central Ambulance Service also declared a critical incident on the same day due to pressures on its services.

Dr Smith went on to say “I’ve never seen it this bad before.  We’re in the second week of July – we would normally expect the hospital to be a bit quitter at this time of year.

“It feels like the third week of January – and more.  It’s extreme.”

Southampton City Council said it had activated plans in hospitals and care homes to support vulnerable individuals and is visiting and monitoring people at high heat risk.

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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