NHS winter pressures 'not going to be better' this yearpublished at 09:00 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
Sophie Calvert
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke
Bosses at the Royal Stoke University Hospital have told BBC Radio Stoke they believe they are prepared for winter pressures this season.
But they admit they are still not expecting to meet waiting time targets, despite 64 new beds due to come into use at the start of 2019 thanks to £8.82m from the government.
Last winter there were long delays, and Dr Richard Fawcett, from the hospital, apologised via Twitter for "third world conditions" in his hospital department.
At the time, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust responded by saying it had been under "severe and sustained pressure over the Christmas period" and this had "continued into the new year".
Quote MessageThe forecast is looking that we're going to have the same pressures that we did last year. I haven't spoken to a single emergency medicine consultant that says it's going to be better and I haven't heard anyone from the Department of Health saying it's going to be better."
Chris Pickering, A&E clinical lead, Royal Stoke University Hospital