Kingston Hospital has warned residents they still need to stay away over the weekend as NHS hospitals across London struggle to cope with winter pressures.

The Galsworthy Road hospital repeated its plea for residents to steer clear having warned earlier this week that the hospital is “exceptionally busy”.

Epsom and St Helier have put out similar appeals, while it was revealed today that two hospitals in north London - North Middlesex Hospital and Whittington - ran out of emergency care beds between Christmas and New Year.

Kingston Hospital posted on Twitter: “A&E remains very busy. For today, Saturday and Sunday please only come in a real emergency.”

The Nuffield Trust think tank warned in December that on the single busiest day last winter, an extra 4,390 beds had to be opened, equivalent to more than seven extra hospitals in one day. 

The trust said the pressures on the NHS “pose a real threat to the smooth running of hospitals and, ultimately, to patient safety”.

Last month, Kingston Hopsital extended its clinical decision unit to include six more beds to help doctors see to patients in need of extensive care rather than taking up space at the main emergency department.