A hospital is cancelling dozens of routine operations each week because of a sudden surge in emergencies.

About 90 operations have been put on hold at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton over the past 14 days.

Most of the operations are being rescheduled quickly but some patients may have to wait weeks for another appointment.

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust says it has been dealing with an unusually large number of emergencies.

The hospital regularly operates at almost full capacity, with nursing and medical staff shortages and bed-blocking adding to the pressure.

There were plans to close beds on a ward at Brighton General Hospital, which is run by the same trust, and transfer patients to the Royal Sussex because of a shortage of workers.

However, because of the extra pressure, the ward is staying open and more nursing bank staff have been brought in to cope with the demand.

One member of staff contacted The Argus about her concerns.

She said: "Operations are being cancelled each day and people are working at full stretch.

"We need more staff because everyone is under so much pressure.

"The last thing we want is to have beds closed. We need as many as possible open."

A hospital spokesman said pressures had eased slightly this week but the hospital was still busy.

He said: "We don't fully understand yet what brings these peaks on but this one is unusual for the time of year.

"The cancelled operations are elective surgical operations.

"The reasons for the cancellations are the peak in emergencies, the problem with delayed discharges and ongoing recruitment difficulties, meaning we can't have all the beds open we would wish."

The hospital was allocated money from the Department of Health earlier this year to look at ways to avoid cancelling operations.

The emergencies range from car accidents to a burst appendix.

Sue Cleeve, acting chief officer for Brighton, Hove and Lewes Community Health Council, said: "Anything that affects patients is of concern to us.

"When patients have been gearing themselves up for an operation only to have it cancelled at the last minute, it can be very upsetting for them.

"We appreciate the hospital is under a lot of pressure with delayed discharges and staff shortages and will be watching to see how things develop over the next few months."