SALISBURY District Hospital has had to close down specialist areas to provide extra space for patients as it struggles to cope with the winter crisis.

The hospital is running at 100 per cent capacity - hospitals are supposed to have no more than 85 per cent of their beds occupied to minimise the risk of infections and delays in getting treatment.

Earlier this month, the endoscopy unit was closed down while operations have been cancelled with patients moved onto beds in endoscopy, day surgery and the Pembroke Unit.

Speaking at last week's Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust board meeting, chief operating officer Andy Hyett said: "We have taken some very difficult decisions to keep escalation areas open and drop them down over a period of time.

"Patients have been moved more times than we would like. The issue of being in an escalation area is that you are moved.

"Last week we closed down our endoscopy unit for four days and we took four days for a reason, it was so those patients were not moved again as they were already housed in an established area."

He added: "We have an escalation policy within the trust of areas we go into if required - that was never designed with the view that we would go into those areas for prolonged amounts of time which is what we have seen this winter.

"It may have allowed us to mitigate some risks at the front door by putting patients into beds in the hospital but the knock on effect of that is obviously if you have patients in endoscopy areas, you can't do endoscopy and likewise on the Pembroke and day surgery unit."

Mr Hyett said the the hospital is looking at the possibility of creating a new ward of 20 beds.

n On Tuesday, a hospital spokesman said the endoscopy unit was no longer being used as an escalation area. However escalation beds in day surgery and Pembroke Unit continue to be used.