SOARING attendances at Leighton Hospital's A&E make the arrival of a new building extension timely, says a medical chief.

While the numbers of people attending A&E fell by 20 per cent during 2020/21 because of coronavirus, there has been a steep rise in recent months.

Mid Cheshire Hospitals Foundation Trust (MCHFT) Chief Executive James Sumner predicts medics could be dealing with up to 100,000 people by next spring.

The impact of the pandemic and three lockdowns was outlined by Mr Sumner at a recent annual meeting of the trust's members.

With infection control a priority and resources devoted to treating Covid patients, Leighton's Emergency Department (ED) was quiet for most of the year.

The medical site also saw a drop in surgery with figures for elective procedures nearly halving from 31,125 to 16,105.

But the hospital chief says the hospital's ED extension will be welcomed to cope with an increasing demand fuelled by an increase in "post-pandemic illness" and an increasing population.

"One of the big problems for us is because of the post-pandemic situation A&E attendances are higher than ever - we could get 100,000 this year which is an enormous figure," said Mr Sumner.

Of the last year, the hospital chief said: "We kept our normal NHS work going as much as we could, but the virus took over for a significant time.

"We had to postpone planned and elective treatment because of the risks."

Leighton was one of the first centres to dispense vaccines in Cheshire last December with 47,000 people quickly jabbed.

Now it is preparing for the post-pandemic world and is in the forefront in the region participating in the RECOVERY trial which tracks how Covid affects patients in the long term.

But the hospital chief reported: "We've still got Covid wards and we have patients coming in every day. It is still a real struggle."

The new ED extension includes an isolation facility for coronavirus patients.

And hopes are high the whole hospital will be completely transformed in the future if Leighton is included among eight additional new hospital builds as part of a £3.7 billion government programme.

The MCHFT submitted its proposal earlier this year and a final decision is due to be made next spring.

Crewe and Nantwich MP Kieran Mullan pressed the government to support Leighton's plans during a parliamentary debate recently.

"It's hugely exciting the bid to get a brand new hospital," added the trust's chief executive.

"We previously secured the funds for a new A&E department and that opens in a matter of weeks. That is good as we are going to be so busy there."