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A hospital trust in Greater Manchester has issued an urgent warning amid a ‘very busy’ period in its A&E department.
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust have urged people to only assist their emergency department in serious and life-threatening emergencies.
The trust takes care of the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan; Wrightington Hospital; and Leigh Infirmary.
The bosses issued the warning about the emergency department at the Royal Albert Edward via Twitter at around 5pm on Friday (January 1).
“Our Emergency Department (A&E) is currently very busy,” they said.
“A&E is for serious and life-threatening emergencies only. NHS 111 can help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if you have an urgent medical problem and are not sure what to do.
“Please do not attend our A&E for Covid-19 testing or vaccination.”
In other parts of the country, there are fears that the new variant of Covid-19 is putting additional pressure on already depleted hospital resources.
In London, a hospital declared that it could not provide “high-level intensive care” because it is understaffed and overwhelmed by Covid-19 patients.
A field doctor revealed on Twitter on New Year’s Eve that the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel had sent an email to notify staff of the situation.
It came after senior hospital doctors urged bosses to declare a major incident because staff were at a “ breaking point ” as the number of coronavirus patients tripled in just five days.
Just under half of England’s major hospital funds currently have more Covid-19 patients than at the peak of the first wave of the virus, the latest figures show.
A total of 596 patients have died at the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust hospitals after testing positive for Covid-19.
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust has been contacted by the Manchester evening news .
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