East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust announced last week that the increased winter pressures led to them declaring a critical incident.
However, the trust has revealed that they have de-escalated the critical incident after seeing improvements.
Adrian Marr, Interim Chief Executive at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (Image: ESNEFT)
Adrian Marr, Interim Chief Executive at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, announced the change.
He said: “We have seen an increased demand for our services since the new year which meant we declared a critical incident on Tuesday 13 January.
“We are beginning to see improvements and have downgraded our incident status to a business continuity level.
“This means we will continue to closely monitor the situation throughout each day to make sure we continue to deliver safe and compassionate care for all our patients, as well as supporting our dedicated colleagues during this time.
“We’re really grateful to everyone for bearing with us.
“As always, please use our services wisely. If appropriate, please speak to your pharmacist or use NHS 111 for advice for non-emergencies.”
A former nurse was left ‘insulted’ by plans to get more patients out of hospital (Image: Contributed)
A critical incident meant the trust received additional support from the whole healthcare and social care system.
During the critical incident, people who had relatives and friends in hospital, were asked to give a helping hand to get patients home in the hope of freeing up bed space.
Elaine Patten, a registered nurse of 52 years, said she left ‘insulted’ by the decision calling out the trust.
She said: “After more than half a century in nursing, I find it profoundly disappointing that frontline staff and families are being asked to absorb the consequences of long-standing political and structural failures.”