Milton Keynes Hospital is currently seeing an exceptional level of demand for its services, following an extremely busy weekend with high number of emergency admissions.
The hospital has opened a large number of its escalation beds and additional ward space to help deal with the pressure on its services, and staff continue to work exceptionally hard to provide safe and effective care for its patients.
The number of patients severely ill with COVID-19 is higher than it has been for many weeks, and a number of wards have been reconfigured to enable staff to admit and treat the growing number of patients with the virus.
We continue to work hard to minimise any impact of these pressures on planned care, like surgery and outpatients, especially for patients who require urgent surgery for cancer or other potentially life-limiting conditions.
Patients with appointments at the hospital should continue to attend, unless told otherwise.
The hospital’s Emergency Department (ED) remains open 24/7 for those requiring urgent care. Patients in ED may experience longer waits at particularly busy times.
CEO of Milton Keynes University Hospital, Joe Harrison, took to Twitter to address the current situation.
''It is extremely busy @MKHospital, with very high numbers of patients being admitted to the hospital. We have already opened a significant number of escalation beds & remain under real pressure. The number of patients with COVID-19 are the highest they have been for many weeks. We are working hard to minimise the impact of this pressure on planned surgery & outpatients so please attend unless told otherwise. Staff are working exceptionally hard to care for patients & keep them safe & I’m very grateful for their extraordinary hard work & commitment.''