THE boss of the trust that runs Great Western Hospital said the hospital being too small for the town has made dealing with the pandemic more difficult.

He said: “Previous winters have been very busy and the NHS gets very stretched but we have got to remember that the Great Western is a hospital that’s too small for the town anyway.

“Swindon, with its fast-growing population, as I’ve always said, needs more beds and it’s something we’ve been working on. That problem has been compounded in a pandemic.”

People can still go to appointments unless told otherwise by hospital staff, but visiting is banned for most people.

Mr McNamara added: “If we ever have to cancel appointments, we will let patients know. If you don’t hear anything, you can still come along.

“It’s still safe to attend appointments but we don’t want unnecessary visits to the site which is why, just before Christmas, we put tougher visiting measures.

"Other than for exceptional compassionate grounds like end-of-life care or people with significant needs, we are not allowing visiting on-site so we can reduce footfall and reduce risk to patients and staff."