Royal Derby Hospital gym used as makeshift hospital ward

Patients are being urged to use urgent care centres rather than A&E for injuries that are not serious or life-threatening

A hospital gym has been turned into a temporary ward due to "severe" and "intense" demand on services.

Bosses at the Royal Derby Hospital said the building was used twice this week for patients waiting to be discharged.

Dr Chris Weiner, chief medical officer for NHS Derby and Derbyshire, said staff had been left frustrated.

He said the rise in demand was due to an increase in patients with Covid-19 and a backlog caused by previous lockdowns.

Dr Weiner told BBC Radio Derby that staff "really want to see high quality care delivered to people in our community and want to see people treated in a normal bed space and to be able to do that well.

"[It's] frustration that people are feeling on the front line, because they want to do a better job than they feel able to do at the moment."

People have also been asked to use urgent treatment centres instead of A&E for non life-threatening injuries.

"Every day we're seeing intense demand for on-the-day health care, and many patients do not realise they can get care more quickly at an urgent treatment centre for many conditions," Dr Weiner said.

"By reducing the load on hospitals, we can free up their capacity to carry out planned operations and life-saving emergency care."

A hospital spokesman said the gym was used on two days by patients who were medically fit and were waiting to be discharged.