WELL done to top surgeon Tony Banks for his incisive comments about the real happenings in the Royal Bolton Hospital.

I had the misfortune to find myself in the Accident and Emergency Department of the hospital a little while ago with a sick relative and it was obvious that, although the doctors and nurses were doing their best, there was simply nowhere to move the trolleyed patients. That they were under-staffed and overworked could not be disputed -- we waited four hours before seeing a doctor -- but the main problem was, they had no access to any beds, and many patients were too ill to be discharged, so they lay on trolleys for the rest of the night. I left the hospital at 5am, with my relative still reclining on a trolley. He was moved into a ward about 9.30am and then discharged about 11am despite the fact that we were told he would be staying in the hospital for several days!

There were, at one time, several convalescent homes in the town and surrounding areas, but, sadly, these were closed for no apparent reason. Undoubtedly patients should not hold down hospital beds but, as Mr Banks indicates, they have to have somewhere to go. It is not always suitable to send them home, even if someone there is capable of looking after them because the back-up can, at times, appear non-existent.

Perhaps now this problem has been highlighted efforts will be made to rectify the situation promptly. The fact that a spokesman for the council says they fund significantly more beds now than five years ago is not an argument. Five years ago there were not the same demands being made on the hospital and immediate help must be found.

M Partington

Bolton (address supllied)