Patients had to be turned away from Wycombe Hospital's Accident and Emergency department this week as pressure on staffing levels hit crisis point.

The hospital was forced to stop accepting emergency patients referred by GPs at the A&E department on Monday night when no more beds were available.

Many patients had to be taken by ambulance to neighbouring hospitals which had been put on red alert to help deal with the backlog of those in need of treatment.

Notices were posted up in the cramped waiting area of the A&E Department on Tuesday, apologising to those suffering as a result of long delays. The A&E department reopened last night (Wed).

South Buckinghamshire NHS Trust chief executive Roy Darby has written to GPs explaining that the crisis situation is due to a combination of the unprecedented high level of patients referred to the department, staff shortages and problems caused by delayed discharges.

He said: "These factors combined to concentrate pressure on the accident and emergency department to such an extent that we could not physically take any more medical patients."

The situation was being reviewed hourly as management and nursing staff struggled to cope with the numbers of patients already admitted, stretching resources to full capacity.

A spokesman from the NHS Executive South East Regional Office told the Star: "We are aware of the temporary problems at Wycombe Hospital and are monitoring the situation closely.

"The NHS plan which the Government launched in July promises an increase in hospital beds and staff which will help to relieve these difficulties."