An NHS trust has stepped down from a critical incident after “sustained pressures” at one of its hospitals eased.

The Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUHT) had previously declared a critical incident at the emergency department of the city’s Queen’s Medical Centre on Monday, which ended on Wednesday afternoon.

But the trust continued to urge people to “use NHS services wisely” and utilise services including 111 and urgent treatment centres.

Our hospitals are still under pressure and we continue to ask the public to help by only attending our Emergency Department for serious accidents or life-threatening emergencies

A statement on the NUHT website said: “We would like to thank our colleagues for their extremely hard work in making this happen and for the support and care they continue to provide to our patients.

“Our hospitals are still under pressure and we continue to ask the public to help by only attending our Emergency Department for serious accidents or life-threatening emergencies.

“Where the situation is not life-threatening, alternative support will be available through NHS111 online or by calling 111.

“Our emergency services remain open and you 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.

“Our aim is to prioritise patients with the highest level of need and ensure that we continue to manage emergency care.”

The trust also urged people who were waiting for someone to be discharged to collect them “as early as possible” to free up bed space.