DEMAND for beds and operations are increasing at Great Western Hosp-ital a week after the Accident and Emerg-ency Department had to be closed for all but life-threatening cases.

Grandmother Sheila Ladd is understandably upset as she has had her operation cancelled four times because more urgent cases have come in.

Although she only needed a minor operation, emergencies had to take precedence.

This of course makes medical sense but the situation appears to be less manageable as the weeks go by.

Even hospital staff have been contacting the Advertiser to say that they are worried about the situation and there seems to be no way to improve it.

We reported concerns about the hospital's size within a month of it opening in December 2002 when GPs were faxed asking them to avoid sending patients there.

More recently the closure of A&E and the cancellation of minor operations is being blamed on a surge of admissions and people needing treatment and operations on day wards.

The hospital has already opened an extra ward and a 128-bed treatment centre is scheduled to be opened next April.

But will these extra facilities be enough? The trend suggests it may not.

The dedicated staff at the hospital are certainly doing their best and performing well in difficult circumstances which are certain to lower morale in even the most committed of people.