HEALTH services are at crisis point as staff struggle to cope with the massive demands of winter.

Bosses were forced to put Southampton’s hospitals on black alert – the most serious – yesterday, closing their doors to all but the most critically ill.

An internal memo, leaked to the Daily Echo, laid bare managers’ desperation to free up beds as soon as possible and warned that operations could be cancelled.

Meanwhile, ambulance chiefs admitted they were failing to reach almost one in five emergency cases on time because of factors including staff shortages and sickness.

They also blamed an unprecedented number of calls, made worse by time-wasters who have dialled 999 asking for lifts home when drunk or complaining of minor ailments such as sore toes.


Read the full story in today's Daily Echo