A&E department was understaffed

A Black Country hospital had too few nurses in its accident and emergency department on 73 occasions during the winter, the BBC has learned.

Royal Wolverhampton Hospital said it used locum nurses to bring another 110 shifts up to the recommended levels.

It said there had been minimal occasions when it had too few doctors or consultants.

The BBC asked hospitals around the West Midlands for their staffing levels from November 2008 until January 2009.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust said its accident and emergency wards did not fall below minimum staffing levels.

It said there were a small number of occasions when it had too few doctors and had used locum doctors as "backfill" on most occasions.