THE trust in charge of Worcestershire's hospitals has responded after waiting times at a county A&E to more than eight hours this morning.

At time of writing the waiting times for visitors to the A&E at Worcestershire Royal Hospital has settled to a wait of just over five hours, with 42 patients waiting to be seen.

This followed a wait of over eight hours at the hospital this morning.

Alexandra Hospital also had a wait time of more than 8 hours this morning but has now settled with just over an hour wait for the 17 patients there,

This, the trust says, is due to the ongoing pressure caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with more young people taking up hospital beds as Covid patients.

Mike Hallissey, chief medical officer at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “As the number of Covid-19 cases in our local community continue to rise, we are also seeing an increasing number of patients admitted to our hospitals with Covid-19.

"We are seeing younger patients in our beds, around half of whom have not received a Covid-19 vaccination.

"Restrictions outside of our hospitals may have been lifted, but I would continue to urge people to take every precaution to protect themselves and others – in particular by getting vaccinated.

Alternatives to accident and emergency care

"As well as seeing more patients with Covid-19, we are seeing more patients attending our emergency departments each day, with some patients attending with minor ailments, which could be dealt with at a pharmacy, through their GP, or at one of Worcestershire’s Minor Injuries Units.

"As demand for our urgent care services also grows, teams across our Emergency Departments and wider hospitals are working incredibly hard to ensure patients receive appropriate and safe care.

"We are doing everything we can to care for those unwell patients to make sure they get the help they need, as soon as they need it and as safely as possible."

Dr Ian Tait, GP and chair of NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire CCG said: "We are seeing increased pressure on all our services and are asking people for their support – both to continue to take sensible precautions with regards to Covid-19, and to access the right NHS service for their need.

"We would urge people to contact NHS 111 for urgent care advice and signposting to the most appropriate service for you.

"Please only use 999 in a life-threatening emergency."