Gastroenteritis Outbreak Contributes to Hospital Critical Incident in Staffordshire

Hospital officials have confirmed that a gastroenteritis outbreak affecting wards in Staffordshire hospitals played a role in a trust’s decision to declare a critical incident. Dr. Steve Fawcett, the clinical director for urgent care across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, stated that segments of the hospital network were experiencing “severe pressure,” resulting in extended waiting periods and delays for ambulances. He noted that hospitals typically manage infections annually during the winter season, and that issuing a critical incident declaration would assist in creating additional capacity. He advised individuals experiencing less severe ailments to first consult pharmacies for assistance. The trust, responsible for operating the Royal Stoke University Hospital and the County Hospital in Stafford, announced a critical incident on Tuesday. Dr. Fawcett commented, “While the NHS is absolutely there to treat the ill and people who need hospital treatment, what we really need is to try and give the hospitals some space to deal with those sick patients.” He mentioned that currently three wards were impacted, though not all beds within them were rendered unusable. He added, “We’ve got infection in the hospital with things like gastroenteritis, which is closing down some of our bed capacity… and causing problems with flow of patients through the system – back into their own homes.” He further stated: “It won’t be all the beds, necessarily, on those wards that are affected, but there are a significant number of beds that have been taken out of action because we have to wait for a specific time period for the infection control team to give it the all-clear, for them to be re-used.” Dr. Fawcett explained that the hospital encounters operational difficulties annually in winter due to infection control measures, but a recent increase in cases had led to several wards being temporarily closed. He remarked, “The whole system is busy, everyone’s working really hard, and it just aggravates it when you’ve got other issues that contribute to the pressure.” He also noted that critical incidents typically resolve within a few days and that the current situation was under hourly review.