WITH non-urgent operations cancelled, theatre staff at Hereford County Hospital (HCH) will be working emergencies over Easter.

GPs are offering an wider service to ease expected pressure on A&E over the break with 12 surgeries staying open in addition to the seven day Taurus hubs, the Hereford walk in centre and other alternatives.

This week, only minor surgical cases are being treated at HCH ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend, which will see elective cases discharged before the break begins.

The hospital’s Teme ward will switch function from surgical to medical, with theatre staff and resources assigned to emergency surgery to increase patient throughout and earlier discharge.

Some elective surgery will be given over to the private sector to protect related targets.

 For the past two weeks, the trust has been working with the social care sector to prevent patient transfer delays and cut the stays of medically fit patients by 50 per cent to ensure enough capacity over Easter.

The county’s health sector fears further pressure on patient numbers over Easter after the unprecedented pressures experienced over Christmas.

Already, around 60 operations due at Hereford County Hospital have had to be put off until after Easter amid fears of another surge in emergency patients over the Bank Holiday.

The trust has confirmed that the operations were postponed because of ongoing pressure over patient numbers and the “knock on” from closure of wards to repeated norovirus outbreaks.

All patients who have had their operations put off should have been contacted by the Trust.

An unspecified date beyond the Easter bank holiday is the earliest non-urgent operations – including the likes of hip and knee replacements – are expected to resume.

Demand on emergency services at the hospital has barely eased since the first “internal incident” over patient numbers was called in January.

Lisa Hunt, the trust’s chief operating officer, again urged would-be patients to first consider alternatives to A&E unless they faced a “real emergency”.

The likelihood, she said, was of a “faster and more efficient” response to more minor ailments than was available at A&E where waiting times were a reality.

Easter fears also see GPs offering an extended service, with 12 surgeries confirmed as staying open over the break - in addition to three seven-day GP hubs in Hereford, Ross-on-Wye and Leominster, pharmacies, out of hours GP services, NHS 111 and the GP walk-in centre at Asda, Hereford.

David Farnsworth, Executive Nurse Quality and Patient Safety at Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said A&E and ambulance services had to be kept clear for designated emergencies.

“With the extra GP surgeries right across the country signed up to stay open longer over the Easter holidays, it’s never been easier for people to get medical support when they need it,” he said.