DELAYED ambulances and patient discharges are just two of the reasons an internal critical incident has been declared at Salisbury District Hospital (SDH).

Earlier today, April 27, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust announced the hospital is "under intense pressure" with "many patients" waiting to be discharged.

Read more: 'It’s far worse than when we were at the height of the pandemic' - Hospital 'under intense pressure'

An SDH employee later told the Journal a critical incident had been declared.

Confirmed by the trust, a spokesperson said: "The triggers for the decision to declare an internal incident included the increasing number of ambulance delays, the number of patients who have a delayed discharge and the number of patients waiting in excess of 12 hours to be admitted."

There are currently 21 Covid-19 positive patients onsite, and 53 members of staff are absent because of the virus.  

In response to the incident, the spokesperson added: "The declaration allows the staff to focus on support to recover our position, support to our acute wards, regain patient flow and create admitting capacity. 

"This will involve working closely with our partners across the health and care system to make sure patients are being cared for in the most appropriate setting."

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