Isle of Wight hospital cancels routine appointments and surgery

St Mary's in Newport is the Isle of Wight's main hospital

An island hospital has cancelled routine appointments and surgery in the face of "unprecedented challenges".

Isle of Wight NHS Trust said cancer treatment and urgent operations at St Mary's Hospital would be prioritised, but other planned activities would be postponed until at least Friday.

The trust has appealed to families to offer short-term care for relatives at home rather than in hospital.

It said it had appealed to staff to work extra hours.

In a statement on its website, the trust said the challenges followed "months of extreme pressure and another very busy weekend", including a rise in flu cases.

Director of nursing Juliet Pearce said: "Almost every day more people arrive at the hospital than leave and many of these urgently need our help and a hospital bed.

"Our teams are working extremely hard to find beds for everyone who needs them.

"We have added as many extra beds as we safely can, turning our Endoscopy Ward into a 10-bed ward to support the Emergency Department.

"We have appealed to all of our staff to work extra hours."

Ms Pearce said a quarter of the hospital's current patients could be better cared for somewhere else.

The trust statement added: "Families and friends are being asked to support the NHS by collecting patients from hospital as soon as they are ready to be discharged and to consider offering short term support and care for their loved ones at home."

The trust said some GP appointments might also be postponed to prioritise urgent care.

The hospital previously announced critical incidents in August, and again in September, as well as on 1 December.