UNPRECEDENTED numbers of patients with serious conditions have put a ‘severe strain’ on health services across the area.

Today the situation is so serious at Dorset County Hospital that they are considering whether to declare an internal ‘Major Incident’ zone following days of pressure on their staff and a ward full of patients that need to be discharged.

Across the county Poole Hospital declared themselves in a Major Incident zone on Monday and are struggling to cope with five wards closed due to winter sickness bugs and double their usual number of casualties walking through their door.

GP surgeries, the ambulance service and community hospitals are all also reporting an ‘unprecedented demand’ on their services.

Alison Tong, the director of Nursing and Operations at Dorset County Hospital, said: “The numbers of patients coming to the hospital has not increased but we are seeing severely more ill people than we would normally at this time.

“Patients are arriving with really bad respiratory problems and coming in with hypothermia – the majority are older people but some are children going out into the snow.

“The main increase is the really sickly people coming in with heart and chest problems linked to the cold.

“It kicked off in earnest on New Year’s Day when people started coming in back to back, then it just got progressively worse.

“The situation is very severe – I would say almost as severe as I have ever known it. Poole Hospital has declared an internal Major Incident and we were discussing it today.”

Hospital chiefs at Dorset County Hospital have been holding crisis meetings throughout the last few days to establish if they need to declare a Major Incident zone for the first time in its history. Mrs Tong added: “If we continue at this level of complexity then it could be any day.”

Yesterday at the Dorchester hospital one ward was closed due to norovirus, scheduled surgery appointments and medical tests were cancelled and emergency overspill areas were set up.

The build-up of patients in the hospital yesterday meant that 27 patients – the equivalent of a full ward – needed to be discharged but could not because there was no room for them in the community hospitals or aftercare facilities.

A spokesman for South Western Ambulance said the cold snap has led to an increased amount of emergency calls, and people falling over in the snow or icy conditions has taken up 20 to 25 per cent of their calls.

Doctor Steven Bick, a senior partner at Dorchester Road Doctors Surgery, said that they are also feeling the side affects of the cold weather.

“We are getting a lot more calls than this time last year and we can’t cope with the amount we are getting each day,” he said.

An NHS Dorset spokesman said: “We know that winter continues to be difficult, with particular services coming under significant pressure, however the NHS is well prepared.

“We are implementing action plans that have been developed, and are working with local partners to ensure that patient health care and safety is maintained.”

A spokesman for Poole Hospital said the Major Incident status was stood down yesterday evening and advised visitors to stay away unless their relatives are gravely ill or at the end of their life.

Patients are advised that if the injury is minor their first point of call should be their GP or NHS Direct on 0845 4647 and only to call 999 or visit A&E if they are seriously ill or have an emergency.

This pressure on Dorset County Hospital comes at a time when the hospital board plan to axe 200 jobs this year.

The hospital board announced in November that it is facing a financial deficit of £7.4million and that all job ranks and departments are under review as part of the cost improvement plan.

The first 28 roles will be announced in March.

* If you have been affected by this please contact the Echo newsdesk on newsdesk@dorsetecho.co.uk or 01305 830999.