Hospital's 15-hour wait 'red alert' warning

Patients have been warned to expect waits of up to 15 hours at a hospital's accident and emergency unit.

The Royal Blackburn Hospital said a "high number of really poorly patients" were among the 127 in its emergency unit earlier.

Hospital bosses urged people to go to their community pharmacist or GP unless their conditioning was life-threatening.

A red alert notice on the website of Royal Blackburn Emergency Department told patients: "Please make sure you are going to the most appropriate place for your medical needs."

Sharon Gilligan, deputy chief executive at East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, said: "I want to start by saying how sorry we are to everyone who finds themselves or their family waiting for long periods of time in our urgent or emergency care treatment centres.

"The A&E at Royal Blackburn is one of the busiest emergency departments in the country.

"The team could not be doing any more to support patients and their families in an extremely pressured and challenged environment, and I want to thank them for their ongoing hard work and resilience."

The trust said it had been working with the ambulance service "to identify people who could be treated at home by community colleagues rather than in hospital".

The trust said it was also running a hotline for people to call if they were concerned someone was deteriorating.

All nurse vacancies had been filled, hundred of new student nurses were on hand, and former offices had been transformed into a ward to increase the number of beds available, the trust added.

The move comes after Health Secretary Wes Streeting told health chiefs in England to prioritise safety even if it means performance against the four-hour A&E target slips this winter.

NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard, who hosted a meeting with NHS leaders on Monday, said the health service was facing "unprecedented demand" heading into winter.

Recent data showed 95% of hospital beds were full and ambulances were facing long waits outside A&E departments.

The Royal Lancaster Infirmary said it was seeing the highest level of pressure on its services.

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