An update on our current position

10.50am, Friday 7 January 2022

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We have today stood down our internal critical incident, and our thanks go to every member of staff, our health and social care partners, and the people of Swindon and Wiltshire for their continued support.

“Whilst our position has improved from where we were a few days ago, significant pressures are still being felt across the organisation with high numbers of patients walking through our doors, both with COVID-19 and a range of other complex conditions and we expect this to continue. 

“We therefore want to ask local families to continue to support us at this time by collecting your loved ones promptly, and we would encourage anyone who needs help to visit the NHS 111 website or call 111 in the first instance so you can be directed to the most appropriate healthcare service for your needs.”

To see the number of COVID-19 patients being treated in the Great Western Hospital, please refer to https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-hospital-activity/ 

3pm, Thursday 6 January 2022

Our staff are working incredibly hard to continue providing care to every patient who needs it and we want to continue encouraging patients to attend their appointments as planned, unless you have been told otherwise.

If there are any changes to your appointment, you will be notified directly so please do not call the hospital to find out if your appointment is going ahead. This will ensure that our phone lines are available to those most in need. 

10.45am, Thursday 6 January 2022

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We currently have 59 patients being treated for COVID-19, of which two are in ICU. There are also lots of patients coming through our urgent and emergency care services, which means our hospital is extremely busy.

"These pressures are made more challenging as we have many staff off sick with COVID-19 or isolating, or with other conditions.

"As a result, we remain in an internal critical incident. This is our highest level of internal incident which allows us to be able to take additional steps to maintain safe services for our patients and help us cope with the growing pressures. It’s a formal part of the escalation process which means we can seek some additional support from partners across health and social care, such as to seek support for increasing discharges. 

"We would ask local families to support us by collecting your loved ones promptly, and would encourage anyone who needs help to call NHS 111 in the first instance who can direct you to the most appropriate healthcare service for your needs.”

Tuesday 4 January 2022

Our hospital is currently extremely busy - there are very high numbers of COVID-19 patients as well as patients with a range of complex conditions arriving to the Emergency Department and Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC).

Our patients are unfortunately having to wait a long time in the department for a bed to become free. Some patients are having to wait much longer than we would like in the waiting areas, whilst we treat those in more life-threatening conditions.

Our staff are working incredibly hard to review any patient who might be able to go home, but we are appealing to our local families for your help too. You can help help us by collecting your loved ones as promptly as you can and make sure their home is ready, by stocking the medicine cabinet and arranging transport.

If you need urgent healthcare advice but are not in an emergency, please consider whether you can care for yourself first using appropriate medicines.

If you cannot care for yourself please use the NHS 111 online service or call 111 before attending hospital. NHS 111 can direct you to the right healthcare service for your needs as it is often quicker and more appropriate for you to be seen outside of hospital and if you need to attend our UTC, NHS 111 can arrange an arrival time slot for you so you can wait at home.

We want to ensure that every patient who comes through our doors receives the care they need, but we can only do this with your support. Thank you.