HEALTH bosses say they have coped better than ever before with winter pressures on hospital beds.

John Rostill, chief executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said they had been well prepared for the pressures on beds caused by the adverse weather, including heavy snow, by keeping beds empty in readiness for an expected influx of patients.

Mr Rostill, speaking at a meeting of the health watchdog health overview and scrutiny committee (HOSC) at County Hall, told members that three of Worcestershire’s MPs – Worcester MP Robin Walker, West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin and Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid – had received no complaints from their constituents about how hospital staff had handled the situation.

More patients tend to come to hospitals in winter because of slips and falls and other problems such as flu and respiratory ill health, so it tends to be one of the busiest times of the year for large hospitals such as the Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester and the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.

Mr Rostill, who met the three MPs last week, said: “They had no criticisms or letters in their mailbox over the winter period criticising any of the services.

“There is no doubt in our mind at all that the winter plan for the whole health economy is the best one we have ever had. It was predicated that we would have 200 empty beds by Christmas Eve. In fact, we had 140 beds.”

Mr Rostill said there had also been pressure on services which had been caused by the four bank holidays over Christmas and new year.

However, Mr Rostill also said: “Our staff were not satisfied with what happened. They felt there was a large amount of pressure on the services at various times. We thank the staff on everybody’s behalf for all their efforts.

“Not only was there snow before Christmas but there was swine flu and winter flu and the usual surge following four bank holidays. There was huge pressure on the service and they came through remarkably well.”

At the time of the heavy snow before Christmas, hospital bosses launched an appeal for anyone with a 4x4 to help get medical staff to work.

Eamonn Kelly, chief executive of NHS Worcestershire, also praised the hard work of staff in the county’s five community hospitals when he addressed the meeting.

Mr Kelly, who visited Tenbury Community Hospital, said: “It was a very humbling experience. Many of the staff had slept overnight in the hospital because of the snow. It’s really important we acknowledge the contribution the staff are making.”