Royal Cornwall Hospital declares critical incident as corridor care returns

Summarised from CornwallLive's report · Updated 5 Nov, 22:10 · Archive

Royal Cornwall Hospital has declared a critical incident as patient demand surges, forcing the return of corridor care.

Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust had made progress in eliminating corridor care at Treliske Hospital, reducing emergency department corridor spaces to six and clearing them from main wards. However, a patient surge since the start of November triggered a critical incident, now in its third day, meaning demand has exceeded the hospital's capacity and normal operations cannot be safely maintained.

The trust's acting chief executive Kim O'Keeffe told the board that patients are now being treated in corridors, discharge lounges and day case areas. She stated the situation affects not only patient care but also workforce resilience and the hospital's financial recovery. The trust remains committed to sustainable recovery and ending corridor care.

Read the report

• Treliske's bid to end corridor care scuppered by 'critical incident'It means demand has outstripped its current capacity and normal operations can no longer be safely or effectively maintained without taking emergency stepsCornwallLive · 5 Nov, 15:08

In this story: Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust · Treliske · Kim O'Keeffe

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