11:00am Saturday 4th July 2009
By Siobhan Ryan, Health Reporter
A surge in accident and emergency patients has forced hospital bosses to keep extra beds open to cope with demand.
Temporary beds installed at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton to help staff handle winter pressures have stayed open well into the summer.
The cost of keeping the beds and making sure enough nurses are available to cover them has put Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust £22,000 down on its financial plans for May.
The news has sparked concerns that continued pressures over the summer and the impact of a potential swine flu outbreak could mean the beds will have to stay open permanently, putting more demand on the trust's finances.
However managers at the trust, which also runs the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, insist the move is only temporary and they are confident of getting back on track.
Operational director of finance Chris Adcock said: “We have seen 1,700 more patients in our A&E departments in April and May compared to the same time last year.
“In response, we have continued to provide temporary extra capacity beds that were originally introduced during the busy winter months.
“We have also recruited additional nurses for A&E and other hospital wards.
“This additional expenditure has meant that by the end of May our financial surplus was less than we had predicted at the start of the financial year.
“However, plans are in place to make sure that this shortfall will not affect our end-of-year results.”
There is no specific explanation for the increase in numbers coming through A&E but cases are likely to increase once the school holidays start and the city is inundated with visitors.
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