Pressure has eased slightly at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro which was downgraded from black alert to red alert status on Monday afternoon.

The hospital had been on black alert since Friday, the highest level of emergency which means it is essentially full with no beds available for incoming patients and often leads to the cancellation of routine operations as the focus is shifted to critical and emergency care.

But on Monday afternoon the status was brought down and the chief operating officer of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, Paul Bostock, sent a message to all staff thanking them for a "great response."

He said: "Although the situation has eased and we start the week in a better position, we are still under pressure with a high number of patients presenting to our emergency department and urgent care centre.

"We expect to see high demand sustained throughout the peak summer weeks and will seek continued media support in urging people to use alternative services wherever possible."

He added: "On behalf of the trust board I would like to thank everyone involved for their continued support and commitment to the care and safety of our patients."

The hospital still expects a high level of demand in the coming weeks, and members of the public are urged to help the NHS by using alternative services wherever possible and only using A&E for critical and emergency care.

Serious conditions include chest pain, stroke, severe abdominal pain, severe bleeding or breathing difficulties, major broken bones and serious head injuries.

For everything else, people are being asked to use other services such as a GP, pharmacy, the NHS 111 phone number or minor injury units. For more information, visit: www.kernowccg.nhs.uk/get-info/choose-well/