PATIENT safety was “inevitably” put at risk when hospitals came under unprecedented pressure this winter.

The comment was made in a report to Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust’s board about the crisis.

The report, made by the trust's emergency planning and business continuity manager Jane McGovern, said a lack of available nursing home beds and a lack of support for people in their own homes also contributed.

The shortages meant the trust’s hospitals were not able to discharge patients as quickly as they needed to - leading to longer delays in accident and emergency departments.

The report, to be discussed by the board at a meeting on Thursday, said demand far outstripped capacity at Worthing Hospital and St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester, forcing the trust to declare "a business continuity incident".

The report said: “Delays in the discharge process compounded the issue.

“Community and social services were compromised due to delayed access to assessments and placements, staffing shortages and the loss of nursing homes and home care services (due to the closure) were also contributory factors.

“With GP access limited and the NHS 111 system overwhelmed there was an increase in 999 calls and self-presenters to A&E.

“Unprecedented steps had to be taken over winter 2014/2015 to address the increase in admissions and lack of capacity.

“There were times of stress and times where patient safety was inevitably put at risk

“Incidents were kept to a minimum and teams worked together in very difficult circumstances.”

Last winter Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust were also under added pressure.

There was a significant impact on in-patient services at both Worthing Hospital and St Richards Hospital in Chichester over a two week period as a result.

Planned operations had to be cancelled, along with training sessions and meetings and staff worked extra hours to meet demand.

At the peak of the incident there were up to 15 ambulances waiting outside the trust’s hospitals to admit patients with no capacity to accept them.

The report said 2015 was particularly challenging due to the way the holidays fell – with Christmas having four consecutive ‘closed’ days and New Year having a similar impact.

The closure of GPs, dentists and pharmacies, the reduction in the provision of social and community support and the traditional holiday demands all impacted on hospital services.

Projects are already in place to help deal with pressures for the coming winter, which include staff recruitment and bed availability.

Pressures right across the healthcare system are also being addressed, including the need to have enough nursing home beds and support in people’s own homes .