600 operations cancelled and 10 per cent increase in attendances at Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital

The besieged hospital has seen thousands of extra patients in its full-to-bursting A&E unit in 2014.

The latest figures cap an incredibly busy year at the Wednesfield-based hospital, which has taken on extra patients, staff and services following the fallout of the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust being dissolved.

A chronic shortage of beds has led to dozens of operations being cancelled every month.

Ambulances now take patients to New Cross from areas such as Cannock, where they would previously have gone to Stafford Hospital, meaning space is in short supply.

Chiefs hope a new £30million Emergency Centre opening in November 2015 will transform the A&E department's fortunes, while a controversial move to send all non emergency surgery to Cannock Chase Hospital from February onwards is also expected to ease pressure.

The latest A&E figures show that 111,150 patients had visited the unit in 2014, up to and including December 14.

That is around 8,000 patients - roughly eight per cent - higher when compared to 2013.

Tim Powell, deputy chief operating officer at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, said: "It's busier than ever.

"We have put additional resources in there but it is extremely busy.

"The figures average out at around 330 people per day - when I first came here six years ago 240 was a busy day."

And of the new A&E next year Mr Powell added: "It will be a fantastic building, state-of-the-art and much larger and a much more comfortable experience for patients."

In November the trust yet again failed to see 95 per cent of its A&E patients within four hours - the fourth month in a row it has failed to hit the national standard.

That will lead to a £62,000 fine, while a further fine of £28,600 will be dished out for not getting ambulances back on onto the road within set limits of 30 minutes and 60 minutes.

The number of cancelled operations - 598 up to the end of November - is down on last year but still higher than any other trust in the Black Country and Staffordshire.

Chief operating officer Gwen Nuttall said of the figure: "Our increase in cancelled operations correlated with an increase in emergency activity onto the New Cross Hospital site from August 2014.

"In November, we cancelled 70 operations and the main reason for this was a lack of beds, again because of increased emergency activity.

"We are taking action on this issue and plan to move elective surgery to Cannock Chase Hospital to try and ease the pressure and better serve our patients."