NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board (ICB) said its critical incident declared on 3 January had been stood down thanks to ‘fantastic system partnership working'.

Dr Chris Reid, chief medical officer for NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB, said: ‘Our health and care staff have continued to work tirelessly throughout the system critical incident.  I want to thank them for all they have done over the last few days and throughout the busy winter period.'

The ICB said de-escalation was achieved thanks to system partnership working, including using personal health budgets, virtual wards, community assessment and treatment units, same day emergency care units and X-ray, Right care and Falls cars.

In addition, over 2,000 additional GP appointments are being made available to patients needing urgent care over a two-week period in GP practices and primary care hubs.

Elsewhere, University Hospitals Birmingham said it had also stepped down its critical incident.

A spokesperson said: ‘Thanks to the extraordinary measures taken, and the extra hard work of all our colleagues and teams over the past 72 hours, we are now able to step down from this critical incident.'