Critical Incident at Nottingham University Hospitals Stepped Down | Latest news

Critical Incident at Nottingham University Hospitals Stepped Down

This morning (Wednesday 1 July, 2026), we have stood down the Critical Incident that was declared on Monday 29 June due to the severe and sustained pressure on our hospitals following the recent hot weather.

We have taken this decision because, since declaring the Critical Incident:

• The number of patients waiting on corridors in the Emergency Department has reduced thanks to the hard work of our teams.
• The actions we have taken to improve flow in the organisation have taken effect. Overall yesterday we discharged 466 patients
• Our most at risk pathways including major trauma, resus and health care of older people, and ambulance handovers are in a better position

Although pressures have eased, our hospitals remain busy. While numbers are lower, patients are still experiencing long waits in ED, and there are patients on corridors.  We are sorry for the continued impact this is having on people using our services and apologise for delays in your care.

Our sincere thanks go to our staff who have been working hard in very challenging conditions, and to the public for your patience and understanding at this time.

How you can help

Our services remain very busy, and members of the public can help in the following ways:

• If your relative is due to be discharged from hospital and needs to be collected, please do so as early as possible. This will help our teams and free up a hospital bed for someone waiting to be admitted.  
• Only call 999 or attend ED for serious accidents and for life threatening emergencies. 
• Where the situation is not life-threatening, alternative support will be available through NHS111 online or by calling 111. 
• Urgent Treatment Centres (UTC) treat injuries including sprains, strains, suspected fractures, bites, cuts, scalds and other non-emergency conditions. Waiting times are usually much shorter than ED. 
• Pharmacies can help with allergies, constipation, headaches and many other ailments, over 200 pharmacies in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire can provide NHS medicines for seven common conditions through the Pharmacy First service. Depending on your age, this includes Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) in women, earache, shingles, sinusitis, impetigo and sore throats. See the website for details.  
• Please do not visit your loved ones in hospital if you have any flu or other respiratory illness symptoms - please wait until you are better to visit them.