Two Staffordshire hospitals have declared another critical incident as they face "extremely high demand" for their services.
Both Royal Stoke Hospital and County Hospital have been labouring under "severe and sustained pressure since the start of the year", bosses have said.
According to the trust, the hospitals have suffered "even greater demands" in the last 24 hours.
By triggering the critical incident protocol, the sites can take additional steps to maintain safety in the face of rising pressure.
It follows a similar incident triggered on January 31
Royal Stoke University Hospita
The trust said it was working closely with the NHS and local councils to look for further methods which can help free up bed space.
It comes after a similar incident was declared at both of the hospitals follow a sharp rise in demand on January 31.
“As anticipated, the pressure is greatest in our emergency departments, which are facing continued challenges as patients cannot be admitted to beds promptly," said medical director Dr Matthew Lewis.
“During this time the emergency departments will continue to see the sickest patients first, which means, for some patients, there may be much longer delays than usual."
To ease the pressure, people collecting friends or loved ones once they were discharged were also urged to pick them up as soon as possible.
Bosses also stressed that only serious or life-threatening emergencies warrant a visit to A&E.
