Hereford County Hospital postpones operations due to A&E demand

Some minor operations have been postponed at Hereford County Hospital to ease the pressure on emergency care.

Wye Valley NHS Trust said staff at the A&E department were seeing around a third more patients than normal due to norovirus and flu.

The surge has led to staff being diverted to help on accident and emergency wards, a spokesman said.

Jan Reynolds from the trust said: "This is standard procedure, efforts will be made to reschedule their treatment."

Third higher

A spokesman said elective surgery, and not urgent procedures, were being postponed.

He added between 150 and 160 people were being admitted to the accident and emergency centre per day, which is around a third higher than normal.

People with minor injuries and colds are asked to seek alternatives such as NHS Direct, walk-in centres or GP surgeries.

Ms Reynolds said patients would be contacted if their operation needs to be rescheduled.