Hospitals struggle after staff call-up

Replacement staff are being drafted in from elsewhere

Hospitals in the South have admitted they are struggling to cope after losing many of their staff to the military build-up in the Gulf.

About 250 medical staff have been called away from the Queen Alexandra and the St Mary's in Portsmouth and Haslar in Gosport.

Some are full-time service personnel who are fully integrated into the NHS, while others are people who had left the forces to work for the NHS but who have been called back.

The first month will be the worst, we are under definite pressure now

Simon Payler, Portsmouth hospitals NHS Trust

Operations have had to be rearranged, and the trust is paying for some surgery to be done elsewhere, at hospitals in Havant or Basingstoke.

Agency staff are being brought in, and the government has said it will help with the extra cost.

Simon Payler, director of operations at Portsmouth hospitals NHS trust said they would try to ensure that emergency services would not be affected but could not guarantee it.

He admitted they would struggle to hit their targets by 31 March.

"We've been putting on extra clinics to get ahead before the deployment, which has helped - we're looking at extra sessions and NHS and private suppliers locally and further afield.

"We've had experience of sub contracting - even to Germany, if it's managed properly, it's less an issue than it used to be.

"Today we are sub-contracting to Basingstoke and Havant if it gives better care then people are happy.

Two wards at Haslar have been closed, and in one area four senior consultants have been deployed.

"The first month will be the worst, we are under definite pressure now," said Mr Paylar.

"Staff are working a lot of extra hours - they can't keep that up indefinitely."