A senior member of Kingston's health commissioning body has said winter pressure on services is "the worst I have ever seen it".

Tonia Michaelides, interim chief officer of Kingston clinical commissioning group (CCG), who has worked in the NHS for 24 years, made the admission to councillors at a scrutiny panel meeting.

She said: "People are on their knees now. The NHS on the front line is on its knees. The system is creaking.

"We are doing our utmost to move people through. The actual attendance in accident and emergency has dropped.

"They're not being flooded with huge numbers of people who shouldn't be there.

"Some of the pressure, particularly in frail elderly [people] with multiple conditions, is on the rise. Some of this is completely unpredictable and unpredicted."

Last month Kingston Hospital's deputy chief executive Charles Bruce denied claims by a Labour politician that accident and emergency was at "breaking point".

Delays occurred when the hospital tried to find care beds in the community for patients who no longer needed acute care, he said, but none were available.

At last Thursday's health overview and scrutiny meeting, Kingston Hospital director of nursing Duncan Burton praised staff's work ethic.

He said: "I have seen some absolutely amazing acts of staff working well beyond their time and their limits to make sure that we cope with this demand.

"The people of Kingston should be incredibly proud of the way the staff within the hospital have coped over the winter period."