Beds crisis at hospital forces cancellations of operations

A beds shortage at Peterborough City Hospital has left health chiefs considering plans to turn office space into patient wards. A‘ major internal incident’ was called by bosses at the 611- bed hospital in Bretton at 6am on Monday when they ran out of empty beds.

Staff have also been forced to cancel non- emergency operations, and so far 34 procedures have been postponed this week. The only operations being carried out are life saving surgery and cancer procedures.

One woman contacted the Peterborough Telegraph to say her hysterectomy operation had been cancelled three times since January.

The situation has now eased, but the hospital, which only opened in November 2011, is still on ‘ black alert’ which means there is still a shortage of space.

To cope with the crisis, extra expansion wards have been set up for overnight patients, using areas of the hospital that are only normally used in the day. On Mondaynight 12 extra beds were used, with four on stand- by.

Now a spokeswoman for the hospital said: “A contingency team has been appointed by the health regulator Monitor to look at our financial and clinical sustainability.

“Our chief executive has asked the panel to look at the possibility of transforming the fourth floor, which is currently office space, into ward space. It is early stages, but the fourth floor was always designed to make it easy to change into wards.”

A spokeswoman for the hospital said they had been struggling to cope with the demand at hospital since January, and it is now feared the busy winter will mean they will miss crucial targets set by the Department for Health. Hospitals are expected to see 95 per cent of people in A& E within four hours, but since Friday the highest score the hospital has achieved has been 91 per cent, and on Sunday it only hit 80 per cent.

The spokeswoman said: “Where Trusts consistently fail the target over a number of months, the Department of Health serves a performance notice which requires a Trust to submit an action plan for recovery to show how it will implement changes in order to have a positive impact upon waiting times.

“Wewill be keeping a close eye on how we are performing despite the very challenging environment our Emergency Department staff are working in at present.”

Chris Wilkinson, director of care quality and chief nurse, said: “There are a greater number of people needing a hospital bed for longer as they are very ill, while we are still experiencing higher- thanusual numbers of people being admitted via Emergency Department.

“We are asking people to consider whether a trip to the Emergency Department is absolutely necessary, or whether seeking help from other healthcare services first, such as a pharmacy, GP or local Walk- In Centre might be more appropriate.”

Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson said the crisis was a warning to city planners about the increasing population.

Hesaid: “It is very unfortunate after the financial problems at the hospital now there is a problem with capacity.

“The council is also looking at building more houses, with the 5,500 home scheme at Great Haddon before planners next week, amongst other schemes.

He added: “How will the city’s infra -structure, including health, schools and roads be able to cope if it is struggling now?.”

Stewart Jackson It is unfortunate after the financial

problems

Peterborough City Hospital