Shock as hospital refuses patients

The Newtown Road hospital became full to capacity on Wednesday and any patients needing treatment were referred to the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.

Maureen Duffy, who lives just yards from the hospital in Canterbury Road, Ronkswood, had to be taken almost 30 miles by ambulance after her GP said she needed admitting immediately. The 54-year-old was suffering from an edema that had caused her whole body to swell with around eight gallons of water.

Her husband, postman Larry, said: "I couldn't believe it when we were told we couldn't go to our major hospital just 400 yards up the road. It's disgraceful, and made an already stressful situation a lot worse."

Spokeswoman for the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust, Janet Marie-Clark, confirmed the hospital had been refusing admissions and was on 'red alert' on Wednesday because there was no room.

In the past the hospital has introduced an 'orange two alert' which meant it was short of beds and GPs should try to send patients elsewhere.

She said: "When one site is particularly busy we bring into effect our escalation policy.

"This enables us to arrange for patients who need treatment but who are not emergencies to be taken to an alternative site for assessment in

A&E and admission.

"The situation is constantly reviewed to ensure it is implemented for as short a period as possible. We apologise for the inconvenience this caused the patient and family concerned."

The news comes as it emerges the Alexandra could face massive cuts, including transferring A&E to the Royal in a bid to cut spending by £20m across the county's hospitals. If given the go-ahead this move would load even more pressure on the Royal.

Ms Clark added: "We are looking at a range of options at the moment and closing the A&E is one of them.

"We have to stay within our financial budget and save £20m but no final decision will be made before January and after public consultation in December."