Crisis at Addenbrooke's

A leading hospital has blocked all new ear, nose and throat appointments to reduce a backlog stretching to 1998. Consultants in the ENT department at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge say they are "in crisis".

A spokeswoman said: "We have three consultants who between them can take 300 referrals a month. At the moment we're getting 480 each month. We have asked Cambridge and Huntingdon Health Authority for resources to employ a fourth consultant but they have got financial problems too."