London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Covid: Lincolnshire hospitals declare 'critical incident' over staff shortages

Covid: Lincolnshire hospitals declare 'critical incident' over staff shortages

A critical incident has been declared at four Lincolnshire hospitals because of staff shortages due to Covid-19.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust said it was taking "additional steps to maintain services" at all its hospitals in Lincoln, Boston and Grantham.

The trust's medical director, Dr Colin Farquharson, said there were "significant staffing pressures due to absence related to Covid-19".

But he said essential services "remain fully open".

Last month, visiting restrictions were brought in at Lincoln County, Grantham and District, Pilgrim Hospital Boston and County Hospital Louth to slow the spread of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus.

'Unprecedented'


In a statement, Dr Farquharson said: "As a result of significant staffing pressures due to absence related to Covid-19, we are having to take additional steps to maintain services.

"Our staff continue to work exceptionally hard and we would like to reassure our patients and the public that in spite of the challenges faced, essential services remain fully open for anyone who needs them, so people should continue to come forward for care."

He added people could "reduce pressure on health services" by getting a booster vaccine.


According to a leaked email seen by The Sunday Times, the trust declared a critical incident on Saturday night "due to extreme and unprecedented workforce shortages".

It issued an "urgent appeal" for clinical and non-clinical staff to offer extra time supporting colleagues "over the next 72 hours".

It also asked staff to "consider limiting social contacts with people outside of work".

'Burnt out'


Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents trusts, said a critical incident was "an indication of very serious pressure" at a trust which may "not be able to provide" a range of priority services.

Helen Monday, a nurse at the trust, said hospitals were busy but were "not being inundated with Covid-positive patients".

She said colleagues were "helping out as much as they can" as a result of absences caused by staff self-isolating due being in contact with someone who tested positive.

"Staff are absolutely exhausted," said Ms Monday.

"People are now getting to the point where they're burnt out."

Boris Johnson has warned "considerable" pressure on the NHS is likely to last for weeks to come and said it would be "folly" to think the pandemic was almost over.

He pledged to "make sure that we look after our NHS any way that we can".


The situation in Lincolnshire is not unique.

It is understood at least half a dozen NHS trusts have declared critical incidents over the past week.

That is not that unusual in the depths of winter - the NHS is entering what is traditionally its busiest time of year.

But the scale and nature of the challenges are, of course, unprecedented, with growing rates of staff absences due to Covid.

At this time of year the NHS can see around 1,000 admissions a day for all types of respiratory illness - and it is getting more than that just for Covid, and the number is rising.

A critical incident does not mean emergency care stops being provided, rather it is an alert to the wider system that the trust is under acute pressure and needs help, such as getting staff redeployed from elsewhere.

Many of these incidents will be over in a few days.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×