Ashford's William Harvey Hospital is among those with huge patient demand

Extra beds are being put up in east Kent's hospitals because of a huge influx in patients - partly blamed on the new NHS 111 service.

More doctors and nurses have also been called in to cope with a surge in demand at three hospitals with patient numbers double what is normally expected.

Health trust bosses say the A&E departments at Ashford's William Harvey Hospital and Margate's Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother Hospital - along with the emergency care centre at the Kent and Canterbury - have been particularly busy.

They have been struggling to cope with an increase in demand following problems with the 111 advice line, which is replacing NHS Direct.

Some patients have given up on the new phone service and headed straight to A&E instead.

More beds have been put up and previously closed wards re-opened.

The Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital, in Margate

Dr Andrew Heller, divisional medical director for urgent care at East Kent Hosptials University NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We have experienced huge volumes of patients that seems to be increasing rather than decreasing for what we’d expect for this time of year.

"We've had a very busy winter, but over the last two or three weeks it's been particularly busy.

"The huge volumes lead to more people getting into hospitals so they are as full as they've ever been.

"If our hospitals are very full and our staff are very stretched then it's very difficult to give patients all the attention they need."

Kent and Canterbury Hospital is at full capacity

Dr Heller said "teething problems" with the NHS 111 number have contributed to the build-up - but urged people to persevere with the service.

He added: "The launch of 111 has coincided with this extremely busy time for us and that has only made matters worse.

"The service is suffering from teething problems and patients who would previously go to NHS Direct now cannot. Nonetheless, we would like patients who want medical advice who don't need to come to hospital to go through that process."

The NHS 111 number launched in Kent and Medway on March 5 for out-of-hours and NHS Direct calls before being rolled out to all patients on March 19.

Last week, the British Medical Association raised concerns that some areas are ill-prepared for the new service, putting patients' lives at risk.

It said it had received widespread reports of failures, with staff unable to cope with call volumes and catastrophic IT problems.

Patients can visit www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/choosewell for more advice.