Overcrowded Scarborough Hospital declares ‘major incident’ as NHS crisis deepens

Managers at Scarborough Hospital urged the sick or injured to attend its A&E only in an emergency. Planned surgery and other services were suspended due to the crisis.

Yorkshire ambulance chiefs said yesterday they were continuing to face huge demand for care. Their operational status remained at a “critical” level, first declared more than a fortnight ago.

The full scale of the crisis facing the NHS in England will be revealed in new figures today. Two hospitals in Gloucestershire also declared a major incident yesterday due to heavy demands on services.

Mike Proctor, deputy chief executive at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Scarborough’s hospital, said it had been dealing with an “unprecedented surge in demand” and had reached a point in Scarborough when the major incident plan had been triggered.

“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,” he said.

“Today in particular we have had people waiting in the emergency department before being admitted to a bed, and we need to make sure that our hospital beds and resources are saved for those who need them most.

“Our staff are working extremely hard to maintain these services and are to be commended for continuing to provide excellent care in spite of the pressures they are facing.”

The Liberal Democrats today set out how they will increase NHS spending in real terms by £8 billion a year by 2020-21 by cutting tax perks for high earners and finding extra cash based on a growing economy.

Extra funding will be prioritised on mental health and preventing ill health.

Update: The hospital said the incident had been “stood down” on Tuesday afternoon.