There is no doubt that staff at Princess Margaret Hospital have been working at fever pitch to prepare for the annual winter beds crisis.

And we fully appreciate that management have anticipated the problem and are putting in measures to deal with the crisis. After all, it happens every year.

The difference this year, however, is that it has come some two months early. And, with all due respect, the opening of the Wanborough Elective Unit only goes a small way towards alleviating the situation.

Evening Advertiser columnist and feature writer Shirley Mathias is in PMH for tests. She spent last night on a mattress on the floor in a small office. For several hours before that she was left propped up on two chairs.

Shirley has nothing but praise for the nurses and doctors who made her as comfortable as they possibly could. They are coping under immense pressure.

But the reality is that she is ill, miserable and anxious. And she is not alone.

Up to 11 other patients have spent time on trolleys or in chairs at PMH this week waiting for treatment.

No one who is admitted to hospital should have to sleep on chairs or trolleys. If you are deemed ill enough to be kept in, you should have a bed to sleep in.

And if this is the situation now, what will it be like with fewer beds at the new hospital at Commonhead.

We urge the hospital management to learn and learn now. We can't afford to treat patients like this.