It has emerged that Army doctors and nurses have been helping out the NHS in Northern Ireland for the last year.

The medical staff have been used to help NHS orthopaedic surgeons conduct fracture operations in the military wing of Musgrave Park Hospital in Belfast.

The Royal Group of Hospitals has confirmed orthopaedic surgeons from the Royal Victoria Hospital have been using spare theatre capacity in the military wing of the hospital to try to cut the number of people waiting for treatment for fractures.

Dr Joe McClelland: "Move is a result of a shortage of anaesthetic and nursing staff"

It has also been confirmed that all the nursing and medical staff involved in the operation - apart from the surgeon - is supplied by the Army, including the aneasthetist and nursing theatre staff.

But the Royal has stressed that NHS patients do not stay overnight in the military wing of Musgrave Park.

Many patients are treated as day procedures but if an overnight stay is needed, the patient is brought back to the Royal.

'Operating time'

The service started in August 2001 and there have been almost 160 operations to date.

An Army spokesman said a survey carried out among patients operated in this way had shown 84% were satisfied with their treatment.

It's a surgeon from the Royal Victoria Hospital that carries out the actual surgery itself Dr Joe McClelland

Dr Joe McClelland, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the RVH, said he move was a result of a shortage of anaesthetic and nursing staff.

"We approached the military wing to see if they could basically give us some operating time in the unit, particularly for fracture cases from the Royal Victoria Hospital," he said.

"We have been using about two lists per week there over the last nearly 18 months now for fracture cases from the Royal Victoria Hospital.

"We use their anaesthetic staff and their nursing staff but it's a surgeon from the Royal Victoria Hospital that carries out the actual surgery itself."

He said while the situation was not ideal, it had been an enormous help in reducing the backlog for treatment.