As you may be aware, we made the decision on Monday to escalate both the RLI and FGH to Operations Pressure Escalation Levels (OPEL) 4 due to a number of reasons, including an increased number of people waiting in our Emergency Departments (ED) for admission, longer waits for ambulances to handover patients, challenging staffing in areas, and more patients receiving care in the corridors in the ED due to lack of capacity in the departments.
Escalating to OPEL 4 is an important and rare decision and is based on the level of risk to patients and staff.
Whilst both hospitals remain pressured and there are still significant challenges in areas, we have de-escalated back to OPEL Level 3 at both the RLI and FGH from 9am today.
This decision was made because the pressure on the site has reduced to a level which while still very significant, does not meet the OPEL 4 criteria.
Whilst these de-escalations are positive news it is important to note that our services do remain under extreme pressure. Therefore, we will continue to work closely with our partners to take appropriate action where needed, particularly as it relates to supporting the discharge of patients who do not meet criteria to reside.
The site safety and flow meetings that take place four times a day will continue to support teams across the Trust in dealing with any issues as they arise.
I’d like to take this opportunity to express our admiration and heartfelt thanks to you for your dedication and commitment to putting patients first again and again in difficult circumstances.
Scott McLean
Chief Operating Officer