Watford General Hospital tells patients NOT to go to A&E even in an emergency because they’re running out of oxygen in coronavirus crisis
- At 11:40am today West Herts hospitals tweeted to warn of a critical incident
- Telling patients not to attend Watford General Hospital due to issues with oxygen
- They advised those needing treatment to ‘go to your next nearest hospital’
Watford General Hospital has told people to not attend its A&E until further notice even in an emergency as they are running out of oxygen.
West Herts hospitals tweeted: ‘Please DO NOT attend Watford General’s emergency department until further notice, even in an emergency.
‘Go to your next nearest hospital with an emergency department. Anyone with non-urgent issues should seek advice via 111.’
Watford General Hospital has told people to not attend its A&E until further notice even in an emergency as they are running out of oxygen
As of Thursday 29 people are believed to have died from covid-19 at the The West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust’s hospitals.
A spokesman for the trust told MailOnline: ‘As a result of a technical issue with our individual hospital’s oxygen equipment, which does not pose any risk to our patients, West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust declared a critical incident on Saturday April 4 and has asked that people do not attend Watford General Hospital.
‘A small number of patients are being transferred to other hospitals in the area, with each patient being fully assessed in line with existing safety guidelines before they are moved.’
The trust is responsible for Watford General, Hemel Hempstead and St Albans City hospital.
The West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust said that more information would be made available soon
This afternoon, the Department of Health confirmed 4,313 people have died in hospital in the UK having been infected with Covid-19.
On Friday the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) at St Albans City Hospital temporarily closed ‘to allow West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust to direct clinical staff to treat its sickest patients’.
The trust said the Minor Injuries Unit had seen just ten people a day attending over the last week.
