THE crisis at Hampshire accident and emergency hospitals has eased enough for planned operations to resume.

Managers at the Winchester and Basingstoke hospitals last week postponed all procedures except for cancer and emergency ones.

Elective surgery resumed on Monday January 19 at both the Basingstoke and the Winchester hospitals. They had resumed late last week at Southampton general Hospital.

A spokesman for the Hampshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said the total number of postponed operations since the start of January at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester was 58.

The Chronicle has revealed the full extent of the crisis with many patients being kept in corridors because of a lack of space in the hospital.

In a statement, the trust said: “Postponing non-urgent operations is never a decision that is taken lightly because we know it can be very inconvenient for our patients.  All patients whose surgery was postponed are being re-booked for as soon as possible.

“We thank our patients for their understanding and if anyone would like to talk to us about their experience, we encourage them to contact our Customer Care Team on 01256 486766.”