Macclesfield Hospital’s A&E department was placed on ‘red alert’ for SEVEN consecutive days this month after a surge in poorly patients.
East Cheshire NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, declared an emergency OPEL 3 alert on January 3 to 10 according to NHS England.
Also known as ‘red’ alerts, OPEL 3 incidents denote a ‘significant’ deterioration in performance regarding targets to treat 95 per cent of A&E patients within a four-hour period, leading to patient flow being ‘considerably’ affected.
OPEL 3 is one level down from OPEL 4, known as ‘black alerts’, where patient care and safety may be compromised.
The pressure on Macclesfield Hospital was so severe at the start of the month that bosses were forced to open more beds.
Kath Senior, East Cheshire NHS Trust’s Director of Nursing, Performance and Quality, said: “The trust has opened additional beds in recent weeks to cope with the increased demand on the system.
“Our staff have worked extremely hard to accommodate this, working flexibly and adapting work schedules to support safe standards of care throughout this period.
“Our absolute priority is to ensure that people are able to access the care they need in a timely way and in the most appropriate place. Waiting times are unsurprisingly higher during periods of extra pressure as we must treat the most serious cases first.”
Campaign group 38 Degrees claims the pressure on Macclesfield Hospital typifies the ‘scale of the crisis facing the NHS’ and called for more funding from the Government.
Laura Townshend from 38 Degrees said: “When hospitals across England declare alerts and patients on trolleys queue in corridors, there’s no question about it: we need proper funding for the NHS.
“To thousands of people in the North West who’ve seen it first-hand, the solution to an underfunded NHS is all too clear.”
Macclesfield MP David Rutley said he was aware of the situation and had been reassured by hospital chief John Wilbraham.
He said: “Mr Wilbraham set out the action taken to deal with the latest winter pressures and how around 25 extra beds made available at the hospital. It is always a concern when there is pressures on our health services.
“I am assured that the hospital is taking action to respond. The pressures that are being experiences reveal how important it is to make more positive progress in establishing more integrated health and social care in our area and I will continue to work with the hospital, CCG and council in this important work. The government is putting more money into the NHS but the demand is increasing because of the age of population.”
Health chiefs have also re-iterated its call for people to stay away from A&E unless necessary and to use alternative routes such as contacting NHS 111, pharmacies or GPs.
