HOSPITALS up and down the country have seen ambulances queuing outside but Basingstoke hospital seems to be unaffected by the issue.

Senior doctors say the NHS is on a knife edge, with many A&Es struggling to keep up with demand, and trusts and ambulance services declaring critical incidents.

It comes as pressure mounts on the Government over the “intolerable and unbearable” strain facing the NHS – with experts saying it is wrong to blame the pandemic for the current crisis.

Health leaders hit back at Downing Street's suggestions the pandemic is a leading cause of the current situation, saying the problems are long-standing and deep-rooted.

SEE ALSO: Hampshire Hospitals declare critical incident again

The past week has seen a number of hospitals declare critical incidents and start to cancel routine operations. Reports have emerged of patients spending days on trolleys because of severe shortages of beds in some hospitals.

Despite this Basingstoke hospital, which is run by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust appears to be unaffected. The Gazette went down to the A&E department on Monday, January 9 but could only spot one ambulance parked up outside and none queuing.

As previously reported the trust declared a critical incident on Friday, December 30, as it takes steps to ensure patient safety.

This was the second critical incident to be declared in December, the trust also declared an incident on Tuesday, December 20, when it took steps to ensure patient safety. 

The trust said it was very busy and was responding to a high volume of patients needing urgent and emergency care.

It even called on residents to help by supporting them to get their loved ones home as soon as the decision has been made that they are ready to be discharged.

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South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) previously said the demand for both 999 and 111 services remained high in December last year. This came after they announced the ‘critical’ status following a surge in calls to its 999 and 111 services.

More than 40 per cent of crews were forced to wait at least half an hour to hand over patients in the week up to January 1. That is the highest level since records began a decade ago.

A spokesperson for HHFT said: "Our hospitals remain incredibly busy due to a combination of high demand and challenges in discharging patients home. We remain at our highest alert status outside of full incident response (Opel Four) and all our staff are working incredibly hard to ensure everyone gets the care they need.

“However, the public can support us by helping to get their loved ones home as soon as the decision has been made that they are ready to be discharged, only attending the Emergency Department if they need critical or life-threatening care and by using NHS 111 online (111.nhs.uk) in non-urgent cases. Equally, visiting a local pharmacy is a great source for non-urgent/non-emergency clinical advice.”

SCAS has also been contacted for a comment but has not yet responded.