Hereford hospital's urgent staff plea amid extreme pressure

The Wye Valley NHS Trust said it was continuing to face extreme pressures across all its hospitals, which includes Hereford County Hospital and community hospitals in Bromyard, Ross-on-Wye and Leominster.

Because of that pressure, it is calling on staff who are not working, such as those on annual leave or not on shift, to work, if possible.

OTHER NEWS:

• Dozens of patients face hour-long wait to leave ambulances at Hereford hospital
• Rotting building which forced Herefordshire café to close could finally be fixed
• Frustrated Herefordshire pub bosses hit back at one-star customer review

A spokesperson for the trust also called on part-time workers.

It needs more people to work on inpatient wards and anyone who can help should contact the bank office at Hereford County Hospital "as soon as possible".

Want to get the latest breaking news alerts sent straight to you? It's easy, just sign up for our breaking news email alerts here and the most important stories will be delivered straight to your inbox.

"This includes clinical and non-clinical support that is required, so it, therefore, doesn’t matter what role you usually work in, we would be very grateful for any time you can offer to come in to work and support our ward colleagues," they said.

The trust made a similar call on New Year's Eve and has also asked patients and visitors to wear face masks again as flu cases rise to Herefordshire’s highest-ever levels. They were also asked not to attend hospital if feeling unwell.

OTHER NEWS:

• Banned: kitchen and bathroom fitter caught out near Hereford
• Herefordshire's gyms and pools forced into 'essential' changes as bills rocket
• Herefordshire pub shuts for three months after bid to make money fails

Latest figures showed that 48 beds were occupied by patients with flu, with four more in a critical care bed, on Christmas Day.

During that week, the trust had up to 334 general and acute beds across its hospitals, with the number occupied peaking at 307 on December 22.

An online waiting times tracker on the trust website has shown that patients, at times, could be waiting up to 12 hours to see a doctor at the accident and emergency departments (A&E).

Chief nursing officer Lucy Flanagan, said people should consider alternatives including GPs, pharmacies and NHS 111 if it is not a medical emergency, as the department was “very busy with increased attendances and emergency patient admissions”.