A chronic shortage of anaesthetists is threatening to curtail patient care levels at Airedale Hospital, according to health chiefs.

The Steeton trust says that its roster of 11 consultant anaesthetists is not enough to keep pace with demand from across the hospital, particularly in emergency cases.

Bosses say the only solutions are to find extra funding for more staff and increased numbers of sessions, or to cut the levels of service in certain areas.

They argue that finding cash to improve the situation comes back to the issue of effective use of resources in the local healthcare economy, a reference to the future fate of Bingley, Skipton and Ilkley hospitals, which are under threat of closure.

Director of human resources Roger Pollard said: "We are traditionally under-doctored in Airedale and within anaesthetics they feel a lot of the pressures.

"While the number of consultants has increased, their work load has increased even more so and demand for anaesthetists has increased significantly above supply."