HOSPITAL bosses want more cash to build extra wards at the recently revamped Royal Bolton Hospital.

Dr David Spurr, Medical Director of Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust, believes the recent pressures on beds which led to the cancellation of more than 320 non urgent operations, will only be made worse by the planned closure of Bury General Hospital.

Dr Spurr and his colleagues fear a massive influx of patients from the Radcliffe area in two years time and told members of Bolton Hospitals Trust Board yesterday that the hospital, as it stands, would not be able to cope.

John Brunt, the trust's chief executive, said lessons had to be learnt from the experience of moving all services onto the Royal Bolton site and the effect the closure of Leigh accident and emergency department had on Bolton's casualty unit.

"At our busiest time," said Dr Spurr "patients were being nursed on non-medical wards by nurses without specialist skills.

"We had a number of complaints from GPs about how difficult it was for them to get a bed for their patients and, on a number of occasions, we were having to refuse to admit the patients of GPs who live outside the area.

"Now they want to talk to us about how we are proposing to handle similar pressures in the future.

"Two years ago there was a quantum leap in the number of A and E attendances and emergency medical admissions, In two years' time, Bury General will shut and patients will be asked to go to Fairfield (on the Rochdale side of Bury).

"I believe we will become the acute hospital for people in the Radcliffe area and as things stand we will not cope."

Mr Brunt believed an additional three wards were needed on the Royal Bolton site.

Commenting on the recent pressures, widely reported in the BEN, Mrs Barbara Peacock, chairman of Bolton Hospitals Trust, paid tribute to all the staff whose "dedication and professionalism" had ensured the system worked.

"Recent weeks have been very, very difficult and a tremendous amount of hard work has been put in by many, many people," she said.

"Staff are now looking tired and strained but they are still cheerful and what's more they are still working very hard."

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