THIS week the pressure on the Accident and Emergency Department in Wycombe Hospital became so great that they again had to shut.

Although they were still accepting emergencies they were so busy that patients ended up waiting on trolleys in corridors. Some days the pressure is so great that it boils over and hospital chiefs have to take the decision, on grounds of safety, to push patients elsewhere.

It really is time that something was done to help hospitals cope with the increasing burden they face.

Solutions take time. In the meantime patients are turned away and staff are overworked.

GPs also face an increased burden with files of red tape.