THE largest hospital in north-west Kent had to close its doors to patients for three hours because it couldn’t cope, it has been revealed.

Patients needing emergency care were turned away from the Accident & Emergency Unit and the Princess Royal Hospital, Bromley, on Tuesday afternoon because the hospital was too full.

A hospital spokesman said: “We diverted ambulance admissions for three hours on Tuesday to safely manage A&E. We’re very busy in the hospital in general at the moment and we’ve hit full capacity several times.

“It was a question of how long people were waiting and who we had on. We had a lot of pressure on the beds so to manage it effectively it seemed safer to deal with the patients we already had.

“With the weather and the viruses out there in the community we have a very busy hospital. It’s a bit of an urban myth that friday nights are our busiest time, it can be at any point during the week.”

Patients were diverted to neighbouring Queen Mary’s Hospital, about five miles away in Sidcup, Bexley, for the three hours. Services are still stretched at the PRU but are back to running as normal today.

This news comes a week after the Bromley Extra revealed Queen Mary’s is set to be downgraded to an urgent care centre. A public consultation on the hospital's shake-up will start in the New Year.