A LEAKED memo shows health bosses were worried about the risk to patients days before two died on hospital trolleys at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

A memo leaked to the Health Service Journal shows that NHS England held a patient risk summit in Worcestershire 10 days before two patients died on trolleys at the hospital, in Worcester.

As previously reported, two patients died between Saturday, December 31 and Tuesday, January 3 after waiting for treatment on trolleys in corridors.

The summit was held due to concerns raised by watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) over care at the hospital.

The leaked message, circulated to trust staff after the summit, said: "The risk summit reviewed the whole health economy in Worcestershire and was focused on patient safety.

"It was recognised by all partners that we are facing a crisis as our bed occupancy is too high often over 100 per cent and this needs to be reduced.

"All of our partners have been asked to take immediate actions to help improve patient flow and increase bed capacity.

"Despite our best efforts, patients are waiting too long in corridors putting them at risk of harm and we know this is of real concern to our staff."

Worcestershire Acute Trust, which runs the hospital, has confirmed issues of patient safety were considered during the risk summit.

But it says until a "thorough investigation" into the deaths has taken place, it cannot say that they were linked to pressures at the hospital.

A spokesman said: “We welcomed the risk summit and are working with partners in the local health economy to ensure recommendations going forward.

"The risk summit took place before the patient deaths and whilst we considered issues of patient safety until there is a thorough investigation having been completed we can’t say there is a link between them and any pressures.”

Worcester's MP Robin Walker and Redditch's MP Karen Lumley to press for more investment at the county's hospitals.

And Mr Hunt has pledged in the Commons to consider Worcestershire's bid for extra funding "sympathetically".

He said that, subject to staffing, an additional ward will open at the Royal next week, on top of two others that have already been opened since Christmas to help cope with demand.

Mr Walker said: “I welcome the clear intention to fund capital expansion at Worcester and Redditch and the clear and urgent focus on improving the situation at our local hospitals but I am deeply concerned that we should have reached a situation where Worcestershire is at the centre of national concerns about hospital safety.

“I never want to see this happen again. When our trust was put into special measures (by the CQC) last year I said that patient safety must be paramount."