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An NHS trust has declared a critical incident after 24 ambulances were left waiting outside A&E. Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) runs the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) and City Hospital in Nottingham, and says constant demand for its services and staffing challenges is causing "significant waits" to patients in A&E and other wards. The NHS trust said issues with the rollout of a new electronic patient record, which it introduced over the weekend, have contributed to the mounting pressures. The emergency department at Queen's Medical Centre is struggling in particular, with 24 ambulances waiting outside and large numbers of people in the department at 4pm on Tuesday - the time the incident was called, NottinghamshireLive reports. NUH has now urged the public and patients to consider whether or not they need to attend A&E. However, anyone with planned appointments should attend them unless told otherwise. Andrew Hall, chief operating officer at the trust, said: "Our staff are working tirelessly to care for patients, but the pressure on our services is causing very long waits and this is causing overcrowding in our ED. "We know how frustrating this will be to people waiting in the department. Our staff are working as hard as they possibly can to get to them as soon as possible. "Unfortunately, some of our colleagues have experienced abuse from people waiting to be treated and we ask that they are treated with kindness and respect. The health boss added that patients can help ease the pressure by considering other options such as calling 111, speaking to a GP, or visiting a pharmacy. "Our emergency services remain open and the public should continue to come forward as normal in emergency and life-threatening cases - when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk," he added. "Our aim is to prioritise patients with the highest level of need and ensure that we continue to manage emergency care." It comes after 26 ambulances were counted outside QMC's A&E department over the weekend.
