Waiting times for non-urgent operations could be extended at NGH

The hospital has said that they are considering transfering patients to other hospitals to have their non-urgent operations done, or they might extend the waiting times for non-urgent operations as ever-growing demand on the NHS increases.

However, medics will continue to do routine surgery at NGH but will be prioritising day case surgery, where patients do not requite a hospital admission, as well as cancer, urgent and emergency surgery.

Once their plans have been agreed with the hospital commissioners and other healthcase providers - then the hospital will contact their patients and GPs who may be affected by any changes.

A spokeswoman for NGH said: “We have seen exceptional demand and pressure on our services throughout 2019.

"Patient safety remains our priority, as well as ensuring those who urgently need our care or in an emergency can access the treatment they need without delay.

"For this reason we are working with our commissioners and other healthcare providers to review a range of options to help us plan for the winter and ensure we have the capacity we need within the hospital."

It comes as on October 14, 449 patients attended A&E this year, which was one of the busiest days the hospital has seen in 2019.

When compared to the same day, the year before, medics treated 142 people less.

On average 420 patients are recieving treatment from the A&E department each day.