AN army of 86 nurses is still needed at the Royal Bolton Hospital to cope with an increase in patients.

New figures show that it continues to lag behind its NHS counterparts nationally under the Government's NHS Plan.

The hospital has increased its nursing workforce by only 20 -- from 1,465 to 1,485 -- in the past 12 months.

This is despite a recruitment drive last autumn to cope with a 15 per cent rise in admissions from Leigh, Salford and Bury.

The Royal Bolton, awarded just one star in a Government rating system last autumn because of its cancelled operations, has however managed to attract extra consultants -- their number has risen from 96 to 106 which is double the national average.

The number of allied health professionals, such as pysiotherapists and lab technicians, has also risen in the town from 503 to 531 -- two per cent above average.

Overall, the total number of staff employed at the Bolton hospital has risen from 3,531 in September, 2000 to 3,687 in September, 2001.

However, a hospital spokesman said that while the number of nurses had risen, the number of patients had also increased, creating a heavier workload.

"We have more vacancies than we would like but there is a rigorous recruitment drive in place."

Meanwhile, the number of GPs in Bolton and other North-west towns remains chronically low.

A British Medical Association spokesman said: "Recruitment for GPs is way below Government targets. I know Bolton is in a bad situation."