Double the expected number of patients turned up on Monday

Staff at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, who have asked GPs to refer only their most serious cases to them, say last Monday "approached their busiest day ever".

Seventy patients were admitted on a day when staff would normally have expected to admit up to 35.

The situation became so difficult to manage that hospital trustees were forced to inform the Welsh assembly.

Andy Scotson, spokesman for the North East Wales NHS Trust said the high level of patients was partly because Christmas and Boxing Day this year had led up to a weekend.

We have had similar problems in the past..this is approaching our busiest day ever Andy Scotson

"We had a four day period where people would've found it difficult to get to their GPs," he said.

"We have had similar problems in the past but this approached our busiest day ever, double what we'd normally expect to take in.

"Monday was exceptionally busy. We had expected 30 - 35 admissions a day - we got over 70, that's three wards full."

"There were a small number of operations cancelled on Monday, we had others who had surgery the following day.

"Our biggest concern is that a lot of the patients were fairly poorly so they'll be here for a number of days."

Epidemic

On Tuesday, GPs were sent a letter from the Wrexham Local Health Board informing them that the hospital had had to deal with 53 medical and 17 surgical admissions on Monday.

In the letter they were told, "Any actions you can take to lessen this pressure would be of great assistance

All patients admitted were dealt with at Wrexham Maelor Hospital and trust bosses said they did not need to call on nearby hospitals to help them.

A large number of sick people were admitted with traditional winter conditions such as cold and flu, but Mr Scotson stressed the situation was not a flu epidemic.

"We've notified the Welsh assembly that there was a potential for problems to develop," he added.

An assembly spokeswoman confirmed they were monitoring the situation at the hospital.

Other hospitals in the area including Glan Clwyd in Bodelwyddan have not experienced the same problems as Wrexham.