Emergency care at Dudley hospital remains under intense pressure

Diane Wake, chief executive of the trust which runs Russells Hall Hospital, said the period of December and January had been "very challenging" due to demand.

And she said ambulance handover delays remained "incredibly challenging" whilst pressures were being put on the hospital over discharging patients quickly.

Ms Wake, who heads up Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, said at a board meeting on Thursday: "The biggest pressure to the organisation is around emergency care. We have had a very challenging December and January with an increase in emergency activity throughout the trust.

"Christmas was very challenging for the trust, we didn't get the [medically fit] discharges we were wanting. The best weekend we've had was last weekend and I would like to thank our partners in Dudley Place, particularly around adult social care, and our ICB (Integrated Care Board) colleagues."

She added that whilst handover delays are "incredibly challenging" when they happen, measures were in place to help keep patients safe. She said the organisation was in a good place and on target to clear the 78-week waiting list for treatment by March.

The boss said Covid and flu cases remained flat, although the trust did see a "massive increase" in flu cases last month and an increase in Covid-19 cases. Around a dozen Covid and flu patients are being treated in hospital, with 20 or so staff off with Covid or Covid-related illnesses.

"Our staff have not had any downtime, they are tired and exhausted and they are working through very difficult circumstances," she said. "And I think it's important we [praise] them for their resilience and hard-work in what is a difficult time, and it has been difficult."

Trust chairman Sir David Nicholson KCB CBE said getting patient flow right was the "answer" to the many questions they had, adding discharge was "critical" to that, before hailing staff and board members for their work amid the pressure.