This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Emergency alerts double in last year
LBC has revealed that the number of hospitals operating at the highest emergency alert level has nearly doubled in the last year.
Having obtained data from freedom of information requests, LBC says that at least 54 per cent of NHS acute trusts declared emergency measures on at least one day between December and March, representing an increase from just 28 per cent in 2016/17.
Equivalent to the old 'black alerts’, the Operational Pressures Escalation Level 4 (OPEL 4) emergence measures see all those involved in the regional healthcare system summoned to a teleconference, meaning hospitals can start redirecting patients, particularly ambulances, and cancelling elective operations. This scenario could be called as the result of no capacity across the trust, severe ambulance handover delays, unexpected reductions in staffing numbers or significant increases in A&E waiting times.
According to LBC, the worst offending trust was Royal Cornwall, which declared an OPEL 4 on 80 days in the winter period.
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