Gloucestershire hospitals under intense pressure, say health bosses

Hospital boss Paul Roberts said staff were "using the minimal capacity they have left for those needing urgent care"

People are being urged to only visit Gloucestershire A&E departments in a life-threatening emergency.

The county's emergency services are under intense pressure, with patients at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital experiencing waits of up to 10 hours.

Chief executive of the Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, Paul Roberts, encouraged people to look at their website or use NHS 111.

"It's quite a serious situation," he said.

With patients at Cheltenham General Hospital experiencing up to a five-hour wait, the hospital boss said staff were having to "use the minimal capacity we have left for those needing urgent care".

People are being asked to use NHS 111 services before attending Gloucestershire A&E and urgent care departments

Mr Roberts said while they often see an increase in demand at this time of year, the "intensity was great" and was extending "into the hospitals and into our community services as well".

He told BBC Radio Gloucestershire some of the pressures come from an increase in flu cases and delays with people leaving hospital.

Mr Roberts said "it would take some days and some weeks for the conditions to calm down" and thanked hospital staff who "are working in difficult conditions".

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