HOSPITAL chiefs have pledged to tackle over-crowding problems after closing an emergency department because it was too busy.

Bosses at the flagship University Hospital of North Durham, in Durham City, are investigating the problem of bed-blocking - patients who can be moved but who have nowhere to go - in a bid to free up capacity.

The hospital closed its Accident and Emergency ward for ten hours to all except the walking wounded and patients with life-threatening conditions. Ambulances carrying other patients needing urgent care were diverted to other hospitals in the region.

The hospital said it was because of exceptional pressure on the department.

The news has angered critics, who warned that the privately-financed hospital would not have the capacity to cope with demand from its catchment area.

But a spokesman for County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospital NHS Trust said: "Diverting patients is something that hospitals do from time to time if they become exceptionally busy. That doesn't mean we take these decisions lightly. But we stand by the decision that it is the right thing to do."

He said there were no guarantees it would not happen again.

"It was a particularly busy weekend for hospitals, just after the holiday," he said.

"Since this new trust has been formed we have been of the view that the hospital was built by the previous trust with fewer beds than it should.

"There is joint work being done by social services and the trust to reduce bed-blocking. Within the trust there are 30 to 40 beds blocked. That restricts where you can put people when they come through A&E."

Derwentside District Council leader Alex Watson said people were worried about how the hospital would cope in a major emergency.

"There were never going to be enough beds in the new hospital," he said.

Shortly after it opened, Durham's Liberal Democrat party collected 5,000 signatures calling for more beds.

The party's leader on Durham City Council, Sue Pitts said: "The whole situation is awful."