BOLTON hospital has come under pressure after reaching full capacity overnight.

There were no beds available at the Royal yesterday morning after an influx of patients the night before.

Health chiefs said they had been opening up the overflow beds used in the busy winter season, due to high demands at the weekend.

However, this week they have remained open.

A spokesperson for Bolton NHS Foundation Trust said: “We’ve worked hard today with our partners to discharge as many patients as possible to create capacity in the hospital.

“This approach has been working, though the system remains fragile. The Trust and our partners at the Clinical Commissioning Group and Bolton Council continue to work together on our winter plans.”

By yesterday afternoon the trust reported it had 14 more beds anticipated but reported that availability was changing on the hour.

Trust bosses are currently preparing for the winter season which runs from November to April.

Aims include increasing the number of hospital and community beds, improving discharge rates, providing more care in the community and ensuring staff levels are adequate.