Dr Graham says wards are overflowing

Dr Graham said the grass roots emergency referral problem was "disgusting".

"These are people with acute medical problems, such as heart attacks.

"You find you have to argue the toss with the on-call doctor on duty, who is recently qualified and has more than enough to do and does not want to listen to the moans and groans of a GP.

"What you have to do is to phone another hospital and the patient is becoming more ill before your eyes.

"The wards are overflowing and there are not enough beds.

"It is a disgrace really."

Year-round crisis

Dr Bob Broughton, secretary of British Medical Association in Wales, warned that recent additional funding had not yet filtered through to key areas.

"It is an all-year capacity crisis. It cannot be turned round quickly.

"The assembly is doing its best with �110m of investment. Not a lot of it has trickled through yet and it could not make a difference for January."

Some of the worst affected hospitals are in areas such as Merthyr Tydfil, Newport and Swansea.

"If they are employing nurse practitioners in Gwent to answer the phones, who is doing their jobs?" added Dr Broughton.

"And when it comes to additional doctors, they are just not there to be had."