BOSSES at the crisis hit Royal Bolton Hospital are setting up a package of measures to combat the beds shortage.

A team of bed managers is being set up to provide 24-hour cover following this week's damning government report.

Other measures include switching a surgical ward at the Minerva Road hospital for four months into a much-needed medical ward which will remain open for seven days instead of five.

Beds in an ear, nose and throat ward will also be used for medical admissions from A&E.

Twelve more nurses are also being put on the front line in the casualty unit. Emergency patients are waiting hours in the A&E department on trolleys in corridors because there are not enough beds.

The hospital has admitted that it is full to capacity as it is forced to cancel operations at the last minute to give beds to emergency patients.

But today, managers said the A&E backlog had been cleared, but they stressed that this can change from hour to hour.

The trust now has to submit its action plan to the regional health department for approval before it receives £243,000 of government cash towards improving its weaknesses -- on top of its many millions of annual allocation.

The Bolton trust will also receive a £386,000 bonus next year if it has met its targets.

Director of Operations, Beverley Andrew, said: "We have had to put forward a report to anticipate the demand in Bolton for beds. We are hoping these measures will free up beds."

Demand

The hospital, also hoping to establish three extra wards to cope with demand, is working closely with the Bolton Capacity Planning Group which is made up of health professionals from primary care, Greater Manchester Ambulance Service and social services to tackle the pressures and draw up a detailed map of beds over the winter months.

Mrs Andrew added: "We are trying very hard to find beds for the emergency patients.

"It would be foolish of us to say that the worst is over, especially approaching winter. But we do understand the difficulties that patients go through when their operations are cancelled, but because of our emergency influx, it is an unpredictable issue."

Head of service development for the Trust, Mrs Ann Schenk admitted that the Bolton hospital had high occupancy rates -- unlike in the 1980s -- leaving "little room for peaks and troughs".

Both directors also mentioned how continuous pressure was being placed on the government to increase Bolton's funding.

Bolton has missed out on six per cent of its cash allocation from Whitehall for 26 years -- almost £13 million a year.

Mrs Schenk said: "This money could have been spent on health services across Bolton as a whole.

"The town is well recognised as being on many health black lists and the government are very much aware of the high levels of ill-health in Bolton. But we are still waiting for the town to receive its extra six per cent."

Plans are also underway to recruit more nurses after the hospital has revealed it has 126 full-time nursing vacancies -- just under 10 per cent of qualified nurses at Bolton.

The Trust, in financial dire straits in July predicting a £3 million year-end loss, is planning to open 20 more beds provided they attract more staff.