THE chief executive of Warrington Hospital has praised staff who ‘gone the extra mile’ to help deal with the numbers of patients this winter.

Trusts across the country have been dealing with large numbers of sick people at accident and emergency.

As reported in last week’s Warrington Guardian, ambulances exceeded the 15-minute target waiting time more than 400 times in Warrington in December.

Mel Pickup, chief executive, thanked staff for their ongoing dedicated work.

She added: “Staff have been dealing with huge numbers of very sick people and have tried their upmost to ensure that the care provided is appropriate.

“Staff across the organisation have really gone the extra mile.”

And she singled out a new initiative called ‘helping hands’ for praise.

It asks people whose jobs are not directly linked to patients to lend support where possible.

Ms Pickup said: “It asks those without any direct contact with patients to think about making a contribution to support clinical staff and helping patients.

“So we have seen HR staff helping with breakfast, finance staff meeting patients.

“It has really boosted the whole of the organisation. There is also something those people can take back to their day job about putting patients first and that is what helping hands is about.”