BEDS, and more of them, are the key solution to easing Herefordshire's hospital crisis claims a local consultant.

Dr Richard Williams says it is essential that in the future more room is found for the beds and more money made available to staff them.

Dr Williams, consultant physician and rheumatologist with Hereford Hospital Trust, and clinical director of medical services, was re-emphasising concerns at a local meeting of the British Medical Association that the new hospital would not be able to meet increasing demands.

Dr Williams said the result of the meeting was a plea to Government for a re-examination of the situation in Herefordshire before it was too late.

He said the medical profession would never give up trying to get the maximum efficiency from the bed situation as it is.

But they were desperately concerned to provide at least an adequate service for patients in Herefordshire, and, preferably an excellent one.

Dr Williams said they had looked at all the options being proposed to make the new hospital work with a reduction in beds.

"But we cannot believe that you can put a quart in a pint pot,'' he said.

All hospitals expected occasional problems in finding enough beds, usually in the winter. But in Hereford this had become the norm, rather than the exception.

Dr Williams said that on 50 per cent of days since last July it had been difficult to get people into hospital, with many 'stacking up' at home. At the same time all neighbouring hospital were facing the same problem too.

He gave examples that in 29 days out of 31 people were waiting either at home or somewhere in a hospital for a bed and in 10 days out of 29 there was no bed for patients needing one.

There was extreme concern that when the bed numbers reduced from 370 to 250 the hospital would not cope with the workload, even if it remained at the current level.

Dr Williams said emergency admissions had risen by 30 per cent in the last five years, the bulk of them being in age care and medicine.

"I can see no reason for this to reduce,'' he warned.

But Dr Williams said it was not all doom and gloom, there were positive factors. Hereford Hospitals Trust had a good national record for more than meeting many of the targets set in its business case.

It was also very good news that Hereford was getting a new hospital, even if it was not as big as hoped for.

He hoped there would be moves to expand the hospital within 10 years.