DOCTORS have again been told not to send referrals to the stretched Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

A fax was sent to GPs yesterday, asking them to wait four hours before sending patients to the hospital's medical assessment unit.

The latest fax, sent by the Director of Public Health of the South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust, warned: "Worcestershire Royal Hospital are requesting four hours of respite for their Medical Assessment Unit.

"Both Worcestershire Royal Hospital and the Alexandra Hospital, in Redditch, have been under significant pressure today from their medical admissions."

The unit, which was also closed for two hours last month, deals mainly with people with breathing and chest problems who need hospital treatment but are not considered a case for A&E.

Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff said he was dismayed by the latest incident, which showed there was not enough "capacity" in the local health service.

"There is no epidemic, no emergency, and no bad weather - nothing special at all - just routine pressure and the hospital can't cope," he said

Impossible

"No blame attaches to local doctors, nurses or administrators, who are doing the best they can in an impossible situation.

"But it is patients who will suffer today - as more people are referred to the very busy A&E department as doctors judge they cannot risk not referring very ill people to hospital at all."

Janet-Marie Clark, spokeswoman for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said the closure was part of an agreed routine and emergency cases were in no way affected.

"The level of medical entries coming into the medical assessment unit was extremely high yesterday," she said.

"We therefore put into place the escalation policy agreed with the Primary Care Trust. It does not affect emergency admissions coming into A&E."

She said the aim behind the closure was to allow patients already in the medical assessment unit to be assessed thoroughly.