AT least 25 extra nursing staff came to the rescue to ensure patients were cared for at Colchester General Hospital.

A message was tweeted to nurses on Sunday morning, asking if any staff could come in to assist on the night shift.

It said: “It’s going to be a very busy night for all our teams. If you are a CHUFT nurse or HCA who can help with hours tonight, please contact the Ops Centre via the main hospital telephone number #Snow.”

Up to 20cms of snow fell in Colchester with temperatures plunging to -4 C.

Colchester General Hospital is on black alert and at the busiest time on Sunday night all beds were full.

However, health leaders said staff responded brilliantly to the plea for support and as a result the hospital was able to provide a safe service.

A spokesman for the hospital said patient flow from the emergency department into wards was good yesterday.

At least 25 extra members of staff went in on Sunday with some doing a whole night shift and some giving just the hours they could.

These were nursing staff including healthcare assistants, sisters and matrons, but also operational staff and at least one clinical lead.

There were about 15 colleagues who were unable to make it in due to the weather conditions.

Catherine Morgan, director of nursing at the hospital, said: “There was an amazing response to the call out for staff to come in and this really helped us overnight.

“I walked round all the wards and saw how hard the teams were working and it restored my faith in human nature.”

Other teams in green faced one of the busiest days of the year on Sunday.

Staff at the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust were thanked for their dedication during the snowy conditions.

Almost 4,400 calls were received making it one of the busiest days in recent years.

It also resulted in the trust declaring an internal major incident and all available staff responding to 999 calls.

The Trust’s chief executive officer Robert Morton said: “The conditions we experienced were extreme and we would like to thank the public for being patient with our responses.

“We had to prioritise life-threatening calls and the most seriously ill patients, and our call handlers had to let those calling about less serious incidents know they could wait a long time for an ambulance and to consider an alternative if it was not a life-threatening emergency.

“Some members of staff came in on their days off and others worked many hours on from the end of their shift.”

Just before 10am yesterday the trust stood down internal major incident status but is still urging the public to take care.

For more information visit www.eastamb.nhs.uk.