THE doctor in charge of medical care at the Great Western Hospital has said that eventually Swindon will need a bigger hospital.

Guy Rooney, the hospital’s medical director, made the remarks as he outlined the pressures facing a healthcare system that is under ever-increasing strain across the country.

Dr Rooney said the use of the term ‘winter crisis’ was unhelpful. “The whole system is creaking,” he said. “But I wouldn’t use the word crisis.

“Actually what we’re dealing with is patients – if they think they are coming into something that is in crisis I don’t think it gives them a lot of confidence.

“We’re also dealing with staff who are having to come in every day and deal with enormous amounts of pressure and stress.

“Actually they’re not in crisis – if you went to A&E now it would be rammed. But the staff are working professionally, looking after people, keeping them safe.”

The pressures facing hospitals are measured on a five level system with one being the lowest level and five the most severe. GWH spent much of the first two months of 2017 at level four.

“The idea around the levels is that they trigger a different type of action in the system,” said Dr Rooney.

“The difficulty becomes that despite trying to trigger this escalation it gets to a point where there are very limited steps people can take.”

While the issues facing the NHS are similar across the country, Swindon’s rapid expansion presents an added burden.

A town the size of Chippenham has been added to Swindon in the past 10 to 15 years. It has placed a demand on GPs and community care which is mirrored right through the system including, most notably, at the hospital’s emergency department.

Dr Rooney said: “The numbers that we see going through A&E go up by ten per cent a year. Whatever plans we put in, whatever we do, we’re really just trying to stand still.

“But whatever happens, there isn’t going to be a magic wand that’s going to solve primary care - there is no one silver bullet.

“You probably need to expand X, expand Y and do Z a little differently.

“Not only have we seen an increase in demands on emergency care, but we’ve also seen a massive increase in people needing more planned care.

“We’re completely full for our cancer treatment, we’re completely full for people who need their hips done etc.

“Eventually, I think we probably do need a bigger hospital.

“Working with the council, with politicians and others, we would be keen to think about how we can build a better emergency care centre. One that is not designed for 50,000 people but for 100,000 plus.”