HOSPITAL bosses are bidding for a SEVENTH intensive care bed to cope with increasing pressures. Just months after securing the cash to open a sixth bed and staff it, Bolton Hospitals Trust is bidding for another bed to meet the rising demand. In the first two months of the new financial year, staff in all wards and departments have been exceptionally busy.

Demand for intensive care beds has been continuing to build with patients from outside Bolton, particularly Leigh and Salford, placing additional pressure on services.

Mrs Ann Schenk, Director of Service Development with Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust, said demand on intensive care meant several patients had recently been transferred on to units outside the area for treatment.

Hopeful

She said: "There's been pressure across emergency services as a whole which have impacted on intensive care. But we are hopeful of securing a seventh intensive care bed.

"The current intensive care service has recently been affected by staffing difficulties as more staff than the norm are needed for each bed."

Coupled with these pressures has been the Trust's commitment to reduce waiting lists both for inpatient, elective admissions and outpatients.

Over the next financial year the Trust is looking to reduce its inpatient waiting list by 400 and remove 2,500 outpatients awaiting their first appointment.

Mrs Schenk added: "We are very anxious to tackle these targets now, outside of the winter pressure period.

"This means the whole of the hospital is at full stretch as we are trying to meet current, ongoing demand for all our services, particularly emergency work and achieve targets on the waiting list front too."

Operations

In a report presented to members of Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust, Mrs Schenk pointed out nine patients had their operations cancelled on the day of, or following their admission.

A further five experienced the same in May.

The main reason for the cancellations has been a lack of theatre time.

Four of the patients during April were not readmitted within a month of cancellation, however, all of May's patients were readmitted within a month.

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