A new hospital has admitted it was forced to cancel an operation on the day it was officially opened by the prime minister.

The �97m University Hospital in Durham has been beset by problems since first opening its doors 16 months ago.

The new building, paid for under a private finance initiative (PFI), was originally planned to have 600 beds but was scaled back to 454, causing shortage fears before it had received its first patients.

Hospital officials have defended the decision to delay the operation last week.

There is a desperate shortage of beds at Durham which is causing major problems right across the service

Richard Elliott, Unison

They say it was the first time that a shortage of beds in the intensive therapy unit (ITU) had led to a cancellation.

Prime Minister Tony Blair officially opened the new hospital with his wife, Cherie, during a visit to the area on Friday.

A North Durham Health Care NHS Trust spokeswoman said: "One patient had their operation cancelled because ITU was full.

"This has been rescheduled and took place on Tuesday.

"The trust regrets having to take this action but decisions made were based on the clinical demands required by our patients at that time.

"This was the first time since the hospital opened that an operation has had to be cancelled because the ITU was full."

'Major problems'

The hospital has been criticised by staff since it opened in March 2001.

Chief executive Steven Mason has admitted that, were the hospital to be built again, it would need more beds.

Richard Elliott, an auxiliary nurse and Unison representative, said: "There is a desperate shortage of beds at Durham which is causing major problems right across the service.

"It is a very difficult situation and one that needs to be addressed."

Mr Elliott said the �67m newly-built Bishop Auckland General Hospital, 20 miles down the road, which was also paid for under a PFI initiative, had 360 beds for a catchment area of 95,000 people.

This compares with North Durham's 454 beds for 250,000 potential patients.