6:26pm Thursday 21st January 2010
A HOSPITAL authority which cares for south Buckinghamshire patients today urged people stay away from A&E because of ‘extreme pressure’ on beds.
Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust declared a ‘serious untoward incident’ on Tuesday as it struggled to cope with patients.
Bucks patients go to A&E at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough as well as Wycombe Hospital – which lost serious trauma cases in 2005 – and Stoke Mandeville, Aylesbury.
Chief executive Julie Burgess said: “We are appealing to the public to only come to A&E in a critical or life threatening situation.
“A&E departments provide immediate emergency care for people who show the symptoms of serious illness or who are badly injured.”
She said: “As always, our patients are our primary concern. The safety of patients and their care will continue to be our top priority.”
She urged people to get advice from their GP or NHS Direct on 0845 4647.
The trust said some patients had norovirus, the ‘winter vomiting disease’, but this “is not the cause of the bed pressures”.
It said: “We are also asking people to think carefully if they need to visit the hospital, and to limit the number of visitors to patients until further notice.”
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