Choose well to relieve pressure on A&E units

MEDICS are urging Halton residents to make sure to pick the right health service to intense pressue on the accident and emergency (A&E) departments.

An NHS Halton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) spokesman said patients should use A&E as a last resort.

He said doctors and nurses are ‘really busy’ at the moment looking after ‘lots of very sick people’.

The spokesman said patients should think about their options before heading to Warrington General Hospital. Anyone who needs urgent but not lifethreatening medical help or advice should ring the NHS by dialling 111, he said.

Neighbourhood pharmacies can also assist with many minor illnesses.

Doctors based at health centres and general practices can also offer extended hours.

Halton Residents who need a routine appointment after 6.30pm midweek or at the weekend should use the G Extra service at Heath Road Medical Centre in Runcorn on the Healthcare Resource Centre in Widnes, accessed by contacting a patient’s own general practitioner (GP).

Runcorn and Widnes’s urgent care centres (UCC) also offer a wide range of services that can prevent the need for a trip to A&E.

Waiting times are usually shorter than at A&E.

The UCCs are open 7am to 10pm, seven days a week.

Warrington’s nearest UCC is Runcorn and a free shuttle bus runs between the two sites.

The spokesman said patients can be treated at the UCCs for almost everything that is nonlife threatening including sprains, strains, suspected broken limbs, minor head injuries, cuts and grazes, bites and stings, minor scalds and burns, ear and throat infections, skin infections and rashes eye problems, coughs and colds, feverish illness in adults and children, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea and emergency contraception.

But when someone is in peril then they should go to A&E.

The spokesman said: “But if the situation is a life-threatening accident or emergency then A&E is the right place to go, but A&E should be the last resort to ensure that we are able keep the service free for those whose lives depend on it.”