A BELEAGURED Darlington hospital is on the critical list after being hit by bed blockages, staff shortages and sickness.

A total of 60 elderly patients across the South Durham NHS trust have spent a month waiting to be discharged into non-existent beds in private sector residential homes. The trust has been on the verge of cancelling routine operations, and winter illness pressures are looming.

Ms Laura Robson, director of nursing and community services, reported to Monday's board meeting that there were 12 difficult-to-fill vacancies in qualified nursing posts and nine in theatres.

During August, there was also an unexplained rise in accident and emergency surgical admissions at both Darlington and Bishop Auckland.

Discharge delays amounted to 22 on the Darlington site, five at Bishop Auckland general hospital and 33 in community hospitals.

Both Darlington and Durham County Council social services departments were experiencing their own problems at finding the money to provide private residential care.

Mr John Saxby, chief executive, said that Darlington's decision to postpone the closure of two of its own residential homes for the elderly would not help in the short term, because they were already occupied.

"Bed discharges used to average about 25 and we have gone up dramatically. It is causing us major problems.

"So far we have not cancelled elective surgery, but we have come close to it. The majority of the people in blocked beds have been there more than a month waiting to go out.

"There are two factors. One is the shortage of residential accommodation in Darlington and the other is the failure of social services to come up with the money to allow them to be discharged.

"We have had one patient in a community hospital since January waiting for a residential bed.

"Sixty people is the equivalent of two wards being blocked and this is just the autumn. We still have the winter ahead."

Mr Saxby said staffing levels were also a concern and patients from ophthalmology had been moved into ear, nose and throat beds for a week to maximise space.

He was also concerned that more than half of the 5pc of staff who were off sick had been so for more than a month, some suffering from anxiety and depression.

"It is inevitable that the busier the hospitals are, the more likely it is your staff will buckle under the strain," he added