NURSING leaders have raised concerns about a possible winter beds crisis in Glasgow's hospitals.

Gill Robertson, of the Royal College of Nursing, fears services could reach breaking point if admissions surge due to flu and sickness bugs because emergency departments are already struggling to cope.

She said the situation could be particularly acute if the country experiences a harsh winter, which some forecasters are predicting.

Last week the Evening Times revealed how seven emergency patients, including OAPs, had been left for up to 17 hours on trolleys in cold corridors at the Victoria Infirmary because of a bed shortage.

RCN officer Ms Roberston said there had been a number of previous incidents and it was a concern because capacity was increased last year by the board and bed levels are currently "running at a high".

She also raised concerns that the total number of beds at the new South Glasgow University Hospital will be less than current numbers.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde apologised to patients affected by the bed shortages at the Victoria and blamed the problem on a surge in admissions.

However RCN leader Ms Robertson said: "The problem is, they have been saying this for a while. The new hospital has fewer beds than we have now. If it should be a particularly bad winter, the situation could be a lot worse."

The health board said it was working with GPs and social care services to develop "community alternatives" to admission and help tackle delays in discharging elderly patients.

A spokeswoman for NHSGGC said: "We have seen a rising demand in emergency admissions outwith the parameters we had planned and this has led to us supporting additional beds which were opened during the winter months.

"This coupled with a rise in the number of delayed discharges has seen our capacity at full stretch over the last few months.

"We are working closely with our GP colleagues and social care to develop community alternatives to admission and with local authority partners to tackle delayed discharges.

"We also need to look at the long-term plans for both elective and emergency bed numbers across all our hospital sites."

caroline.wilson@eveningtimes.co.uk