Gloucestershire hospitals come out of major critical incident status
Hospitals in Gloucester and Cheltenham have come out of major critical incident status 10 days after it was first declared.
But Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it is still remained under "significant pressure". Medical Director, Dr Sean Elyan, said the trust is advising patients only to come to A&E "if they really need acute, emergency or critical care". The heightened level of alert was first declared on 4 January. 'Operations cancelled' The trust said this was because of the high demand for services after the festive break, an increase in frail and elderly patients and a shortage of beds. Dr Elyan apologised to patients who had operations cancelled. "That's not a decision we take lightly and it is a last resort," he said. "We would like to reassure those patients that we will be doing everything that we possibly can to rearrange their appointments as soon as possible either with us or an alternative provider." The trust runs nine hospitals including large A&E units at Cheltenham General and Gloucestershire Royal. Related Internet Links Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust