HEALTH chiefs are planning to increase bed numbers at Blackburn Royal Infirmary to ease the problem of patients being cared for on the 'wrong' wards.

They are looking at several options to expand capacity in good time to cope with any increase in demand for beds which may come about this winter.

The problem surrounds medical patients in beds on wards which should cater for surgical patients.

On average, 14 per cent of surgical beds are occupied in this way and in some specialities the figure is as high as 22 per cent.

East Lancashire Hospital Trust's director of modernisation Rob Bellingham said: "The problem arises when there are high numbers of emergency admissions where patients need to be cared for on medical wards. An example would be someone with respiratory difficulties who needs treatment and monitoring, but not an operation.

"If all the medical beds are full, we have to accommodate them in beds reserved for people waiting for operations.

"This has a negative impact on the number of elective surgical cases we can take which in turn affects waiting lists and our ability to meet targets."

Mr Bellingham said the problem also meant one doctor had to be taken off their normal rounds to spend the week treating so-called 'out-lying' patients around the hospital.

He said at present, there were 19 out-lying patients at BRI although the number could reach more than 90 at peak times, usually in winter, although this time last year there were 94.

At Blackburn Royal Infirmary there are 206 surgical beds and 40 medical beds for adults, excluding those reserved for day cases. The vast majority of medical beds are at Queen's Park Hospital.

The trust's chief executive John Thomas said that because of the impending winter pressures, he had instructed estates staff to draw up several options on the best way to tackle the scheme. These will involve building some sort of temporary accommodation or increasing capacity on existing wards.

The working group will report back with a business case to the trust's next meeting at the end of July.