Southend Hospital considers cancelling elective surgery amid winter pressures

A hospital's medical director has warned it might have to stop elective surgery after six ambulances waited for more than an hour to offload patients.

Dr Stuart Harris of Southend Hospital, Essex, said the "very scary situation" happened on Wednesday evening, in a staff email seen by the BBC.

One ambulance waited for more than six hours and another for five.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust confirmed no elective procedures were stopping at the moment.

One ambulance waited six hours and 14 minutes and another five hours and 19 minutes to offload patients on Wednesday evening, Dr Harris said

In the email sent on Thursday morning, Dr Harris said current winter pressures meant "yet again we are in a dire position, which is putting the safety of patients who use our services at real risk".

The email stated six ambulances were also "cohorting" in the Paediatric Emergency Department - where adult patients were grouped together with ambulance crews in the waiting area of paediatrics.

Dr Harris said: "This was a very scary situation for both the patients and the staff.

"I fear if we don't turn this around we will have to stop all elective activity."

He called on senior staff to review patients coming into the hospital's emergency department to try to "prevent admissions".

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In a statement the trust said: "We can confirm no elective procedures are stopping at the moment."

Dr Harris said: "We always communicate with our staff on plans and policies as we work together through a period of extremely high demand.

"We have no plans to cancel operations and our staff are working tirelessly to provide the best and safest care to our patients."

He urged people to call NHS 111 before coming to A&E, unless it was an "urgent life-threatening situation".

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust was told it must improve by the health watchdog on Wednesday.