A&E at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle has been at "the eye of the storm" amid unprecedented winter NHS pressures, hospital bosses said.
More than 22,000 attended urgent and emergency care services at the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust over December. This pressure - among the highest ever seen - comes against a backdrop of NHS strikes, and a nightmarish flu season.
Hospital trust boss Dame Jackie Daniel said that "the last few weeks have felt far from festive" in the NHS and added: "We find ourselves, once again, in unprecedented waters, managing in situations that none of us expected.
