SMILING Health Minister Jane Hutt arrived with a gift at the Royal Gwent Hospital - but was left in no doubt of the crisis paralysing the area's hospitals.

Away from the cameras, the official smiles were dropped as health chiefs painted a grim picture of over-stretched facilities and cancelled operations - a situation they say cannot be allowed to continue.

Dr Steve Hutchison, consultant cardiologist and the Gwent Healthcare Trust's chief of staff of medicine, said: "Physicians are under great pressure here, higher than any other hospital in Wales."

Patients were treated in chairs at Gwent's main hospital this week as emergency medical admissions swallowed up beds and trolleys.

And on Monday, hospital bosses declared an emergency pressures status six for the first time.

Hospitals report daily at noon to the Assembly how they are coping with emergency pressures, using status levels one to six.

Level one means they can handle emergency medical admissions and elective surgery. Level six is the most serious - neighbouring trusts cannot help because they too have no beds, but the hospital still has to admit emergency patients.

The details of an horrendous few days for patients and staff emerged as Ms Hutt visited the Gwent yesterday, bearing a surprise £3 million gift to fund a maternity unit expansion. The cash will provide two new obstetric theatres, six post-operative beds, two high dependency beds and two extra delivery rooms in the unit, where on average nine babies are born ever day.