Trust stands down Critical Incident at East Surrey Hospital - 15 January 2026
Following significant work across our services and with our partners to manage the exceptional levels of demand, the Trust has now stood down the Critical Incident declared at East Surrey Hospital earlier this week.
Ed Cetti, Chief Medical Officer at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust said:
“Thank you to our staff, partners and local community for their continued support and understanding as our teams worked around the clock to maintain safe services for everyone who needs our care.
"While we have now stood down from Critical Incident, our services remain very busy and winter challenges persist across the system - including continued high levels of demand and acuity, winter viruses and delays in moving patients who are ready to go home. We therefore continue to urge our local community to utilise other NHS services such as 111 or nearby urgent treatment centres or minor injury units where possible, and only use the Emergency Department for life-threatening emergencies to ensure care is available for those who need it most.”
The decision to declare a Critical Incident, alongside Surrey Heartlands, enabled us to take additional coordination and response actions with local health and care partners to support patient care and safety.
We are asking the public to continue to help reduce pressure on local NHS services by:
- Using NHS 111 online and your local pharmacy for urgent health advice where appropriate.
- Accessing GP practices and community services for non-emergency needs.
- Only using 999 and ED for serious or life-threatening conditions or medical emergencies (when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk). You can find out more about alternative options to ED here (insert link)
- Continue to attend appointments unless they are contacted by the Trust to reschedule
- Support the discharge of loved ones who are ready to be discharged as quickly as possible.
Preventing the spread of winter infections such as Flu and Norovirus also remains important for the safety of our patients, staff and visitors. We therefore ask those visiting the hospital to follow on site infection control measures such as good hand-hygiene, reducing their movement around the site, and wearing masks in clinical areas. Visitors should also consider delaying their visit if they have symptoms associated with respiratory conditions, including COVID-19 and flu, or diarrhoea or vomiting. You can find out more here.
Monday 12 January
Along with other local hospitals, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust have declared a critical incident due to the significant ongoing pressure on their services.
Critical incidents – which reflect a level of NHS escalation that enables trusts to focus on critical services – are a result of a surge in complex attendances to ED departments and ongoing challenges in discharging patients who are well enough to leave hospital.
The current situation is exacerbated by increases in flu and norovirus cases and a rise in staff sickness. The recent cold weather has also had an impact with more frail patients needing to be admitted to hospital.
Members of the public can help the local NHS manage these periods of demand by ensuring they are seeking help from the most appropriate health services:
- People should continue to use pharmacies, GP practices, walk-in centres, the NHS App and NHS 111 online or by phone 24/7 for urgent health advice
- People should only use 999 and ED for serious or life-threatening conditions or medical emergencies (when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk).
- Unfortunately, we may need to reschedule some non-urgent appointments to accommodate those patients with the most urgent clinical need. People should however continue to attend appointments unless they are contacted by the Trust to reschedule. Cancer and our other most urgent operations will continue to be prioritised.
- If you have a loved one who is ready to be discharged from hospital we would be very grateful for your support in enabling that discharge as quickly and safely as possible.
In addition, visitors to East Surrey Hospital are also being asked to follow additional infection control measures to help reduce the spread of winter viruses such as Flu and Norovirus – including practicing good hand-hygiene, reducing their movement around the site, and wearing masks in clinical areas. Visitors should also consider not visiting the hospital if they have symptoms associated with respiratory conditions, including COVID-19 and flu, or diarrhoea or vomiting. You can find out more here.
Katrina O'Shea, Acting Chief Nurse at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust said:
"East Surrey Hospital is currently experiencing very high demand, alongside increased levels of winter viruses, which is impacting staffing and how we move patients around our site. As a result, our services are under significant pressure.
"Our teams are working around the clock to care for patients, but please only attend East Surrey Hospital in a life-threatening emergency.
“If your condition isn’t life-threatening, please utilise other NHS services such as 111 online, your local pharmacy or GP, as well as nearby treatment centres at Crawley, Caterham Dene, Horsham and East Grinstead. This will help ensure emergency care is available to patients who need it most.”