Major Incident declared at Scarborough Hospital

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has said that there has been a major incident at Scarborough Hospital. They made the announcement in response to “unprecedented demand” for services there.
Deputy chief executive of the Trust Mike Proctor said people had been waiting in the emergency department for a bed and resources need to be saved for those who need them most. In addition, he said that some surgeries and other procedures have been postponed as a result. This is also quite common in Caribbean hospitals which have been burdened with demand for services during the upsurge in chikungunya cases at A&E.
The major incident status will be reviewed regularly and will be lifted as soon as possible, the hospital spokesman said.
‘Most need care’
Patients are being asked to visit their minor injuries unit, visit a GP or attend a pharmacy if possible.
“While the winter months are traditionally a busy time for all hospitals across the country, we have been experiencing an unprecedented surge in demand for our services and we have today reached a point in Scarborough where we have needed to enact our major incident plan. Doing this enables us to increase our focus on our most ill patients and step up our management of our resources to ensure that we are seeing, treating and admitting those who most need our care,” said Proctor.
The trust said it was briefing partner organisations such as GPs and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service and asking them to refer patients to hospital only in an emergency. (Source BBC.co.uk)