Walsall Manor A&E 'worst in 30-year experience'

A nurse has described the pressures on the accident and emergency department at Walsall Manor Hospital as the worst in her 30-year experience.

A major incident declared on Monday remains in force at the hospital, although 40 extra beds were opened up on Wednesday to deal with demand.

Another 30-bed ward is due to open on Monday.

Director of nursing Kathryn Halford said she hoped that would make a big difference.

'Coping on goodwill'

"I've been a nurse for well over 30 years and I have never seen anything like this, in terms of the number of patients coming through and the acuity of the patients," she said.

"We're coping on the goodwill of staff really.

"They're coming in on their days of, their annual leave, they're really pushing the boat out to make sure we can maintain the safety of patients."

Waiting times have reached about eight to 10 hours, while dozens of operations have been cancelled.

Richard Beeken, chief executive of Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said he expected the current pressures on A&E to reduce in the next few days.