Bedford Hospital is currently seeing an exceptional level of demand for its services, following a high number of emergency admissions.
The hospital currently has all escalation areas opened (these are areas that are not routinely used for inpatient care) to help deal with the pressure on its services, and staff continue to work extremely hard to ensure all patients safely receive the care they need.
We are doing all we can to minimise any impact of these pressures on planned care, such as surgery and routine outpatients’ appointments. 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 emergency care. Patients in ED will experience longer waits at particularly busy times.
We are pleading for patients to only attend the Emergency Department if they require urgent and emergency care. If you have a minor illness/injury, please consider whether you can access the care you need via your GP, a pharmacist, by using NHS 111 online or via the NHS App.