DEMAND for beds at Bradford Royal Infirmary is already running at winter levels.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s chief operating officer, Helen Barker described it as an "unexpected situation" and admitted a higher than normal amount of patients have been kept waiting longer.

To help manage the situation, the Trust has made extra bed spaces available and brought in some of its winter coping plans earlier than usual.

Mrs Barker said: “We have been under significant pressures recently with high demand in A&E and admissions which is unusual for this time of the year.

“We have opened up additional capacity and implemented some of our winter contingency plans early to cope with this increased demand."

She added: "We are continuing to work with the Clinical Commissioning Group colleagues to manage this unexpected situation and acknowledge that we have had a higher than normal amount of patients waiting longer in A&E."

The Trust is also blaming inappropriate 999 calls and warned the A&E service should not be misused.

Mrs Barker said: "Unfortunately we still get a significant amount of people inappropriately calling 999 for an ambulance or attending A&E when they should have considered more appropriate services for their needs such as NHS 111, their GP or a local pharmacist.

“We would appeal to these patients to consider the most appropriate place for their treatment before setting off for A&E or dialling 999 as their attendances mean they are taking up the time of our doctors and nurses that could be better spent dealing with seriously ill or injured patients.

“Our service is free but shouldn’t be misused. A&E is for accident and emergency cases only such as life-threatening illnesses, severe chest pain, difficulty breathing, significant head injuries and broken bones.”

In July this year, two national health charities warned patients should expect "inevitable" greater waits in A&E departments.

The Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation said there was a "perfect storm" of factors leading to increasing waiting times across England which included a growing and older population.

A spokesman at Healthwatch Bradford and District, which represents the views and experience of the public, said it wanted everyone in the district to receive excellent care every time and was working closely with Trust to support its ongoing work to improve patients' experience.

"We understand that the department is under strain, and when services are under pressure it’s more important than ever to listen to patient feedback.

"The pressures on Accident & Emergency departments across the district are addressed in the district-wide ‘Urgent and Emergency Care Strategy’ which is out for consultation, and which states the case for significant changes in the system. Healthwatch would urge people to find out more and share their views on these changes."

The spokesman added: “We know from national research by Healthwatch that as many as one in five people have attended A&E for non-emergencies and that this contributes to the pressure in the system."