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East Kent Hospitals declares critical incident at William Harvey Hospital

By Drooid · Sep 29, 2026, 10:22 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust declared a critical incident at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.
The trust reported that all hospital beds are full and A&E attendances are extremely high.
Patients are urged to use A&E only for life-threatening illness or injury, as non-urgent visitors face long waits.
The trust advises seeking help via NHS 111, GPs, pharmacies or urgent-treatment centres and is reviewing scheduled procedures.

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Story summary

East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust declared a critical incident at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.
The trust reported that all hospital beds are full and A&E attendances are extremely high.
Patients are urged to use A&E only for life-threatening illness or injury, as non-urgent visitors face long waits.
The trust advises seeking help via NHS 111, GPs, pharmacies or urgent-treatment centres and is reviewing scheduled procedures.