A MEDICIAL tent was set up outside Great Western Hospital to potentially help with the strain at the centre as non-urgent operations were postponed for the second consecutive day.

Over the weekend, staff dealt with 667 patients in A&E, 245 of which were admitted for further hospital treatment, which is significantly higher than a typical weekend.

The hospital turned away patients with non-urgent needs on Monday and again today.

To help the hospital, South Western Ambulance Service set up a tent in the hospital car park on Monday afternoon with the intention of providing support.

But it did not need to be used and it was removed today at 1pm.

An ambulance service spokeman said: “The tent was erected at Great Western Hospital purely as a precautionary measure to support the hospital. It has now been removed.”

GWH has apologised to the public for the inconvenience that some have suffered.

A spokesman said: “The hospital remains extremely busy and we have had to postpone some routine operations planned for today.

“This decision was not taken lightly. However, we have to prioritise patients needing urgent care such as cancer surgery, emergency surgery and trauma patients, due to the high demand for our services.

“Any patient whose operation has been postponed will be given another date at the earliest opportunity, usually within the next few weeks.

“We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

“A big thank you to our dedicated staff who continue to work incredibly hard through what is a very challenging time."