A SPOKESMAN for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust hit back at Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff's accusations.

Richard Haynes said it was totally untrue to suggest that waiting list figures were being "massaged."

He said the instructions to GPs in the area were given during particularly busy periods at the hospital, to relieve pressure on facilities.

But he insisted the Trust had a "robust" contingency plan in place to deal with any major emergency.

"If he's suggesting there's any fraud, that's a very serious allegation," he said.

"We take every opportunity to make sure that our waiting lists are up to date, to make sure people are waiting for an operation they both want and need.

"We write to people asking if they still want the operation - that's responsible waiting list management."

Denied

Mr Haynes denied acute hospital beds were closed to admissions on either Monday, December 2 or Wednesday, December 11.

He said there were five beds closed in one ward because of an outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting on December 2, while a similar outbreak on December 11 in Redditch's Alexandra Hospital also led to five beds being closed.

"This was just five beds out of almost 900," he said. "These outbreaks are a common feature during the winter."

In response to Mr Luff's query about the Trust's emergency plans in the event of a flu outbreak or serious accident, he said: "We have a very extensive and robust major accident and incident procedure.

"If anything happened that meant there was a big influx into A&E, we would put an accident plan into effect and try to discharge as many patients as possible if it's appropriate.

"It's planned in enormous detail. But we can't keep beds empty on the off-chance that there's a major accident."