Devon’s NHS has made a plea to families of hospital patients to take them home as soon as they can as it admits that the county’s hospitals are currently buckling under winter pressure.

All four of the county’s acute hospitals, including the Royal Devon and Exeter in Exeter and Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, are seeing a very high number of people needing hospital care, particularly with Covid, flu, other respiratory illnesses and norovirus.

On behalf of NHS hospitals in Devon, Carolyn Mills, chief nursing officer at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘Our top priority is to help our patients get better and support them to leave hospital when the time is right, but we need your help to do this.

‘No one wants to be in hospital for longer than they need to be. There is growing recognition that a lack of physical activity during hospital stays can have significant negative consequences for patients, especially in older people, which can lead to reduced functional ability and deconditioning, as well as the worsening of cognition.

‘People are only discharged when they no longer need hospital care and it is safe to do so. Wherever possible, we would be hugely grateful if you can help us to get your loved one home when they are ready to be discharged.’She added that patients benefited by being more likely to get a good night’s sleep at home, and having less chance of picking up a hospital-acquired infection. In a further effort to reduce pressure on hospital emergency departments, the NHS in Devon is suggesting people go to minor injuries units, GPs or pharmacies in the first instance. Nurses at treatment centres (UTC) and minor injury units including Tavistock can treat burns, broken or fractured bones, sprains and strains. Tavistock Minor Injury Clinic is open from 9am to 5pm daily.