Boess at crisis-hit NHS units have turned away patients and told them: “Go to Asda”.

The shocking move is among a catalogue of horror stories revealed in the Sunday Mirror today which show how hospitals across Britain are failing to cope.

Hospitals are setting up beds in lounge areas, turning away ambulances and even sending patients to supermarket walk-on clinics because they are unable to provide treatment.

A&E crisis worsens: (pic credit LTD_Clincal_0019 Stethescope)

Patients saw planned operations cancelled as hospitals put themselves on black or red alert – and ordered all staff into work to deal with “extreme over-capacity” during the worst year in a decade in England’s A&E departments.

Other hospitals turned away new patients and pleaded for a “firebreak” as they struggled to cope with patients already on the wards.

The bleak picture saw 70 hospital trusts – 45% of those in England – reported at least one day of unacceptably poor performance over the winter months.

The intense pressure on the NHS can be revealed for the first time today. Details of some of the most “serious operational problems” have been forced out of health chiefs through freedom of information rules.

In one astonishing case, closed” signs were put up for a month at two minor injury units in Hereford in January to ease the pressure on Hereford County Hospital’s A&E unit.

Stunned patients were told to try to use a GP, chemist – or even travel 1.5 miles to a walk-in medical centre at Hereford’s Asda superstore.

The A&E units at Lancashire’s Royal Preston and Chorley Hospitals reported 33 days of serious operational problems with “extreme over-capacity” in November and December.

With no beds available, staff raced out to “spot purchase” extra beds. On 17 occasions, the hospitals reported leaving patients in emergency beds set up in assessment and lounge areas.

The incidents come just days after NHS chiefs admitted there are 2.9 million people now waiting for treatment – the highest level for six years. Emergency admissions to A&E units also hit a record high of 3.7 million this year.

In another crippling blow for embattled Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, official NHS figures on bed availability show that every day over winter at least one hospital ran out of all standard and extra emergency beds.

The single worst day was Monday January 6 this year when 14 NHS trusts – close to one in ten of England’s hospitals – were completely full.

On average, 99 hospital trusts each day – two-thirds of all NHS hospitals – were operating above the recommended safe 85% occupancy level, whilst 50 operated beyond 95% and four over 100%.

The 12-month period that ended at the start of this month saw the number of patients waiting longer than four hours to be in treated in A&E reach the highest level for a decade.

Labour last night warned NHS patients could face more temporary closures with the sick sent to supermarket medical centres for treatment.

Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham told the Sunday Mirror: “It’s clear the NHS is in crisis when it tells patients to go to Asda, not A&E”.

Mr Burnham added: “These reports show David Cameron was dangerously complacent about the pressure on England’s A&Es. Many were full and unable to accept new patients at the same time Government spin said that everything was fine.

“Cameron made it harder to get a GP appointment and closed a quarter of Walk-In Centres – A&Es had their worst year for a decade as patients were left with no alternative but to go A&E.

“These extraordinary findings paint a picture of hospitals in crisis. Too many reached bursting point and turned away patients to cope with the pressure. Hospitals sailed dangerously close to the wind.

“This is a warning sign that cannot go ignored. Ministers must act on this and ensure all hospitals have enough beds and staff to cope.”

The catalogue of incidents disclosed under freedom of information rules included:

Coventry and Warwickshire Trust reported the sixth highest level of A&E pressure on record in November, with all spare bed capacity taken. The hospitals cancelled operations and outpatient appointments in February on the same day it asked nearby hospitals to take its A&E patients to allow a “fire-break” – the hospitals were unable to help due to their own excessive pressure. Days later, the trust reported “the hospital was full with all surgical beds used for overflow” and the A&E department was “overfull by morning” – planned operations were again cancelled.

Medway Hospital in Kent drafted in all medical and emergency teams between November and January, and relied on help from paramedics to care for patients when it reported 13 days of serious operational problems. The hospital was placed on the highest level black alert – which forces operations to be cancelled and doors to be closed to new patients to prevent standards of patient care falling.

The Princess Alexandra in Harlow reported high numbers of A&E patients and queuing ambulances over winter, with more than a dozen ‘lodged patients’ waiting long periods for a free bed on a number of occasions. In January, the hospital received close to 50% more ambulances than expected, leading to “protracted delays” in unloading patients and the hospital was put on ‘black alert’.