Anthony Carroll A surge in people visiting a Norfolk hospital accident and emergency ward has placed staff under enormous pressure, it was revealed yesterday. In the last quarter the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston has seen a 12pc rise in people going to it's A&E department leading to the postponement of operations while staff cope with the increase.

Anthony Carroll

A surge in people visiting a Norfolk hospital accident and emergency department has placed staff under enormous pressure, it was revealed yesterday.

In the last quarter, the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston has seen a 12pc rise in people going to its A&E department, leading to the postponement of operations while staff cope with the increase.

As the EDP has previously reported, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has also seen a large increase in emergency numbers this winter.

The large rise was discussed at the JPH's Governors Council which was also told that there appeared to be no single reason for the increase.

Governors heard that because of the surge the JPH had failed Care Quality Commission key indicators for its A&E and operation targets.

Hospital trust chairman John Hemming described the surge as "peculiar".

The meeting was told that a possible reason for the increase was that some people could be unsure or ignored the advice of the out-of-hours GP service.