THE acting boss of Gobowen's Orthopaedic Hospital says non-emergency operations will be halted as of Friday as part of the fight against coronavirus.

Stacey Keegan, who is acting chief executive, says the decision to end non-emergency operations from March 20 is to support any potential please for help from the NHS after the coronavirus outbreak.

Ms Keegan says the move comes after statements from current chief medical officer Chris Whitty on the potential pressures that the NHS will come under.

But she moved to assure patients that emergency surgeries, as well as spinal and cancer treatments, will continue at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt (RJAH) hospital, and appealed for patience from those set to miss out on procedures.

“As the Chief Medical Officer has stated, NHS services are likely to come under intense pressure as the coronavirus spreads," she said.

"We need to ensure that we have as many beds available as possible to care for patients with severe respiratory problems when the number of infections peaks.

“Therefore, in line with well-established plans for situations like this, every hospital in England has now been asked to suspend all non-urgent elective operations from April 15 for at least three months, with some other procedures likely to be rescheduled before then so we can train our staff and adapt certain areas.

“We will be stopping all non-emergency elective activity with effect from Friday.

“Urgent and emergency cases, spinal surgery and cancer treatments will be carrying on as normal.

"But we know many people waiting for treatment will be disappointed or worried, and we will be contacting everyone affected as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, officials at RJAH have declined to comment on how long current chief executive Mark Brandreth will be away from his role.

In a letter published by the NHS on Wednesday, it was announced that Mr Brandreth will be supporting the work towards increasing mechanical ventilation, and other respiratory support access, available for the NHS.

It is believed part of Mr Brandreth's remit is to work with the manufacturing industry.