Hospitals In South West On 'Black Alert'

Hospitals across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are on a "black escalation" alert meaning there are not enough beds to cope with demand so some operations have been cancelled and extra staff have been called in.

The problem has been blamed on increasing demand for services over the festive period with a high number of seriously ill patients needing to stay in hospital for long periods.

Other hospitals across the South West are also under pressure with Yeovil, Torbay, Bath Royal United Hospital and those run by Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust on "red alert", the next level down.

Internal NHS alerts vary slightly between regions but indicate how busy services are and are generally based on the colours green, amber, red and then the most severe, black alert.

NHS Kernow, which operates hospitals in Cornwall, said it was also dealing with a high number of patients following Christmas and New Year, but said despite the high demand it is not yet on a system-wide black alert

n a statement, Dr Iain Chorlton, chairman at NHS Kernow, said: "We are working with our partners to closely monitor the situation and are taking action to cope with the demand and return things to normal as quickly as possible."

He added: "People are reminded that A&E is for serious and life-threatening conditions, such as chest pain, stroke, severe abdominal pain, severe bleeding or breathing difficulties, major broken bones and serious head injuries."

Elsewhere, Cardiff's University Hospital is among a number in Wales which have announced they, too, are under severe pressure.

The Welsh Government said this week is traditionally one of the busiest periods in A&E and the situation was "broadly beginning to stabilise".

A spokesperson added: "The last few days have seen further, more severe surges in demand following the festive period, especially for emergency ambulance calls, GP out-of-hours consultations and attendances at emergency departments - all of which have seen a greater proportion of elderly and frail patients with complex needs."