Icy conditions cause people to fall 'in big numbers'
Dr John Heyworth is head of the Accident and Emergency consultants and runs the emergency department at Southampton General Hospital.
He has been reflecting on the burden the weather is putting on the NHS:
"We are seeing evidence that people are still falling over in large numbers on the icy surfaces.
My colleagues in A&E departments around the country are reporting that they are very busy with fractures because the paths are so treacherous and have not been cleared.
And it is from doing very basic activities like going to the shops for milk or a paper or going to work.
But thankfully the numbers we are seeing who are suffering hypothermia from the cold are small.
The problem is that some of the fractures are complex and need immediate surgery or stabilisation and then surgery in a few weeks.
Hospitals around the country are now refocusing their priorities on those who are waiting for fracture surgery.
In the elderly this tends to be broken hips but we are seeing quite large numbers of younger people with broken ankles, wrists, shoulders and elbows who will need complex surgery to mend them.
So there is going to be sustained pressure on the hospitals for surgery and beds and we have already experienced gridlocks.
Most hospitals have cut beds in the last few years and
Negative Platethis need for surgery puts too much pressure on the system.
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