Patients at Royal Liverpool University Hospital’s accident and emergency unit are facing waits of up to 50 hours.
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has declared a “critical incident” due to “exceptionally high demand” on services and urged people to only go to A&E in a genuine medical emergency.
The hospital said it was “extremely busy” amid a rising number of patients with flu and other respiratory conditions.
Critical incidents have also been declared in the East Midlands and Cornwall.
The East Midlands Ambulance Service – which covers Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire – has declared the first critical incident in its history due to a combination of “significant patient demand, pressure within hospitals and flooding”.
Meanwhile, health bosses have asked people suffering from flu, Covid, norovirus or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to stay away from the Royal Cornwall Hospital’s A&E department in Truro.
A Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesman said emergency measures had been put in place which would allow managers to call for extra help and to make changes to ensure patient safety.
He said the critical incident had been declared because of “exceptionally high demands on our emergency department, especially with flu and respiratory illnesses, and the number of patients”.
The decision had been taken “to support the safe care and treatment of our patients, which is our absolute priority”, he said.
The trust said managers were working with partners to ensure that those who are medically fit can leave hospital safely and at the earliest opportunity.
The trust spokesman said staff were “working incredibly hard” to treat people as quickly as possible but warned some patients will “experience longer waits while we treat our sickest patients”.
Non-emergency patients are urged to instead use other services, such as a GP, a local pharmacy or walk-in centre.
“We have seen an increasing number of people with flu and respiratory illnesses in our emergency departments in recent weeks,” the spokesman said.
For people who do go to the emergency department, they asked patients and visitors to follow additional infection control measures to help curb the spread of flu and norovirus.
“This includes practising good hand hygiene, only visiting the areas they need to in our hospitals and wearing masks in clinical areas if asked to do so,” the spokesman said.
