POOLE Hospital declared an “internal incident” last month and has been cancelling operations, it has been revealed.

As reported in the Daily Echo earlier in the week, new figures showed admissions to the accident and emergency department at the hospital have reached record levels.

A spokesman for Poole Hospital said although a “major incident” had not been declared, it had been put under “unprecedented pressure”.

She added: “As a result of significant pressures on the hospital, including a rise in A&E attendances, increased severity of sickness amongst patients and delays to discharges, we declared an 'internal incident' on December 15.

“This involved establishing an internal 'command centre', which allowed us to manage resources from a central hub and take some pressure off clinical staff. The internal command centre is currently still running, but is expected to be closed over the next week.

“As part of our response to the unprecedented pressure we have experienced, some non-urgent procedures and operations have also been rescheduled.

“We remain extremely busy, in common with many other hospitals, and we would urge people to consider alternative services to A&E where appropriate.

“There are many other services such as minor injuries units, pharmacists and out-of-hours GP services which offer advice and treatment, and can often provide quicker access to care.”