OPERATING theatres at the Royal Bolton Hospital will be closed for routine operations to cope with the expected flood of Millennium revellers over Christmas and New Year.

Managers have decided that routine surgery will have to be put on hold from December 22, 1999 to January 9, 2000 to ensure staff can deal with emergency work.

And it will mean that some people on waiting lists for surgery regarded as non-urgent will have to wait even longer.

Beverley Andrew, director of operations with Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust said: "Because we don't know what we're dealing with, it's very difficult to plan accurately."

Emergency surgery will still be carried out in the theatres.

Patients waiting for operations will receive a letter explaining the situation.

Hospital bosses stress, however, that the decision to suspend routine theatre work has been taken not only to deal with the Millennium but also to cope with the traditional rise in emergency medical admissions.

Last Christmas and New Year was exceptionally busy for hospital staff. But this year there will be no ward closures.

Mrs Andrew said: "Usually at Christmas we are able to close a couple of wards but this year we will not be closing any.

"It is very important, however, that we stress the theatres will be fully open to all emergency work throughout the Christmas and New Year period."

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