THE Borders General Hospital is still facing pressures after announcing it was full to capacity last week, despite a reduction in people waiting for hospital beds.

NHS Borders is also asking the public to continue to contact NHS24 before attending the emergency department, where they can be signposted to the best place for advice or care from the comfort of their home.

On April 12 chief executive Ralph Roberts said the hospital had put its ‘surge capacity’ plans in place and that staff were “working round the clock” to care for patients.

The health board now says that although pressure has “eased slightly” and the number of patients waiting for a bed has reduced, it is still dealing with “high volumes” of patients.

A spokesperson for NHS Borders said: “Although the pressures have eased slightly and the number of people waiting for a bed has reduced, we are still dealing with high volumes of patients who need to be admitted for inpatient care.

“The length of time that people are having to wait remains far longer than we would wish.

“We continue to ask people to call NHS 24 on 111 first before attending the Emergency Department as they will signpost you to the right place to get the advice or care that you need.

“You may need to wait a while for your call to be answered or for a member of the team to call you back, but this can be done in the comfort of your own home.

“If you do need to be seen you may be given an appointment time to minimise the time you need to spend in the department. This also reduces pressure on our team. If you think that your condition is immediately life threatening you should call 999.

“If your family member is fit to be discharged from hospital, please help us to get them home quickly when they are well enough by being ready and available to collect them or support their discharge to their next place of care.”