HEALTH chiefs at the Royal Bolton Hospital have warned that operations could be cancelled over the winter if they face a similar influx of emergency cases as they did last year.

But officials from the Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust have pledged to pump in an extra £500,000 pounds over the coming months in a bid to avoid the difficulties they have faced in the past.

In January the hospital faced a beds crisis when, at one stage, they had double the number of emergency admissions in one night, largely attributed to the flu epidemic that swept the country.

Last winter's crisis forced managers to open up beds on surgical wards for emergency admissions and routine operations were suspended.

Services were so stretched were services that bosses admitted up to 20 patients could have spent nights in casualty if beds had not been found. The Trust's problems were compounded by a double blow of the flu bug also affecting members of their staff and other hospitals in the area also being full, making it impossible for them to transfer patients.

Hospital managers have been in consultation with doctors and nurses to determine how the extra funds should be best spent.

Director of operations Beverley Andrews said: "We are opening 15 additional beds and making arrangements to ensure that trolley waits in A and E are kept as short as possible. We are employing an additional consultant in elderly care for the winter and an extra ear, nose and throat specialist. Other measures that have been taken include additional support for social services and community services to help patients to be cared for out of hospital."

The Trust has also made contingency arrangements with Bolton's Beaumont private hospital and nursing homes.

The hospital will also open two additional intensive care beds and by December will have an extra two high dependency beds.

And the Trust says that they have recruited an additional 50 nurses since this time last year. But Mrs Andrew added: "Despite all this it is still possible that some operations may have to be cancelled at very busy times."