Critical incident declared at Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals as ambulance strikes get under way
A critical incident has been declared at Shropshire's Royal Shrewsbury and Princess Royal Hospitals.
The incident, on the eve of strike action by ambulance workers, was declared by the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) on Tuesday afternoon.
The decision came as more than a dozen ambulances lined up at both hospitals, the queue stretching back to the main road at both the Shrewsbury and Telford sites.
One family told of how their father, who has a heart condition, was told he could have no-one with him at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital because there was no room in the waiting area.
The family had taken him to A&E after being told they may have to wait hours for an ambulance.
In a message to staff the trust said both of the hospitals were under significant pressure.
Staff were urged to do everything they could to support patients' safe discharge from hospital and reduce ambulance handover delays.
"Every available ambulance needs to be in the community as we head into tomorrow," the message said.
The strike will see members of Unite walk out from 6am to 5.59pm on Wednesday, while members of the GMB union will strike throughout the entire day.
West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) has confirmed the outcome of its discussions with staff over the level of service which will be provided during Wednesday's strike action.
In a statement, WMAS's emergency services operations delivery director, Nathan Hudson, said that there was an agreement that crews would attend "the most urgent calls such as cardiac arrests", as well as "other very serious cases such as heart attacks, strokes, difficulty in breathing and maternity cases".
