A MESSAGE from health chiefs telling GPs not to send patients to Cosham's Queen Alexandra Hospital has been labelled proof that the doomed Royal Hospital Haslar is still desperately needed.

Portsmouth Hospitals Trust sent out the emergency memo to the strategic health authority stating GPs must "do all they can not to send admissions to Queen Alexandra Hospital".

Trust bosses took the action last Friday because they could not cope with the demand of patients in need of treatment.

Save Haslar campaigner Peter Edgar, pictured, says this is a perfect example showing why Haslar should not be scrapped.

He said: "If they are getting into a state where they can't let patients be sent by GPs then it is getting very worrying.

"We need Haslar to act as a back-up.

"Even when the QA's new facility is built it will have fewer beds and this kind of thing will happen again."

He added: "What better place for a complementary facility for the QA than Haslar where everything is up and running and being delivered?"

Portsmouth Hospitals Trust (PHT) bosses admitted the alert had been issued, but that the problem was quickly solved.

Spokeswoman Pat Forsyth said: "We were very very busy on Friday and we have been busy for weeks. There are twice daily status reports to keep people up to date with the situation.

"We hope we're not that busy very often, but the whole of Hampshire was incredibly busy that day.

"We looked at trying to divert patients to other hospitals, but no one could help.

"Lunchtime and the early afternoon were the worst times, but in fact by the evening we had found everybody beds and the pressure had eased.

"It's classic for this time of year. There are lots of elderly patients in.

"There is ice about so people fall down and break things."

It comes just weeks after board members at Hampshire and Isle of Wight SHA said they were considering putting the scheme for the Fareham community hospital at Coldeast back to 2010 to save costs or possibly scrapping the idea altogether.