03/02/2026
Today (3 February), East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust has declared an internal critical incident due to ongoing and exceptional demand for hospital services at the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford.
This decision has not been taken lightly. Our hospitals are seeing very high numbers of patients needing hospital care. Beds across our hospitals are currently full and attendance at our emergency departments is extremely high, meaning there is very limited capacity to admit further patients who need urgent hospital care. We also have a number of patients with winter illnesses and respiratory viruses at William Harvey Hospital
Attending our emergency departments for non-life-threatening conditions may result in an extremely long wait. If you need medical assistance, please consider using alternative services such as NHS 111, your GP, local pharmacy or an urgent treatment centre. Advice and guidance are also available at 111.nhs.uk.
We are asking for the public’s support to help us protect care for those who need it most:
· Only attend the emergency department for a life-threatening illness or injury.
· If a friend or loved one is ready for discharge, please collect them at the earliest opportunity if you are able to do so.
As part of the critical incident response, we are working closely with partners across the health and care system to safely discharge patients who no longer require acute hospital care and to reduce avoidable admissions.
We are currently reviewing patients scheduled for planned procedures and appointments. Unless you hear from us directly, please assume your procedure or appointment will go ahead as planned.
Anyone suffering from a winter virus is advised to stay at home, rest, drink plenty of fluids, and use over-the-counter medications such as paracetamol or ibuprofen to help manage symptoms.
Sarah Hayes, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer at East Kent Hospitals, said: “Our teams continue to work incredibly hard in exceptionally busy conditions to ensure patients receive safe, high quality and compassionate care. The pressure on our urgent and emergency services remains extremely high, and we are focused on supporting patients who need us most.
“Declaring a critical incident enables us to keep patients safe by drawing on additional support from our colleagues across the health system, both in terms of enabling safe discharges and providing support to keep patients out of hospital.
“As always, we would like to thank our patients and the public for their continued understanding. It’s important that anyone who needs urgent medical help continues to come forward – using 999 in life-threatening emergencies and 111 for other urgent care. Anyone who is unsure about where to go should call the NHS on 111, or visit 111.nhs.uk for advice.”
