Behind the scenes at region's top performing casualty unit

The onset of Winter has put growing pressure on hospitals which are already feeling the strain financially. Major units such as Derriford and the Royal Devon and Exeter are on alert Level 3 - the second highest level, as they try to cope with patient demand.

In Barnstaple, the North Devon District Hospital has been praised at a national conference for the way it's coping.

Last week this was the top performing A&E department in the country, beating the patient waiting time target and getting people through the system quickly.

While it might feel like a hotel to some, of course they don't want people staying here any longer than they have to.

Here they have a focus on patient flow and cutting down the amount of time they're waiting to move from one department to the next.

To make sure the system is running as smoothly as possible they get together for a tactical meeting twice a day, tracking the flow of patients.

At this time of year, with sickness bugs around, it can be easy to slip to a higher alert level - what they appear to be doing well here is getting back on track and quickly.