A YORKSHIRE NHS trust has called in the Red Cross to help it cope with the demands on casualty services, it revealed yesterday.

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it was currently facing “unusual demand.”

The Red Cross, best known for providing aid for developing countries, stepped in to transport some patients home after they were discharged from accident and emergency.

Hospitals across the country are reporting increased pressure on A&E, with waiting times at their worst levels for a decade.

“The Red Cross are not helping with emergency patients, they are simply providing ad-hoc support for a very small number of patients who need patient transport back home after they’ve been discharged,” said trust medical director Dr David Throssell.

“So far this has been for five patients.”