We’re asking the community it proudly serves to remember that ‘A&E’ stands for ‘accident and emergency’ not ‘anything and everything’.
Over recent days, the A&E team at the University Hospital of North Tees has seen patients coming through the doors with common ailments that can be easily treated by a local pharmacy.
Trust chief medical officer Deepak Dwarakanath said: “We are here to serve and are proud to do so.
“Our A&E colleagues are highly trained, compassionate specialists who are ready and willing to tackle serious and life-threatening illnesses and deal with the impact of accidents.
“But recently we have had people come to our A&E and urgent care centres with very minor ailments they can treat at home. I’m talking about sore throats, stomach upsets and the odd cut or graze.
“We’re appealing to people to keep A&E and urgent care centres available for those who really need them. The NHS website has lots of advice for the treatment of common ailments and your local pharmacy will also be happy to help.
“Of course, in a genuine emergency always call 999.”
The NHS website has an extensive A to Z listing of common conditions with thorough advice and guidance and NHS 111 can offer more bespoke guidance including a callback service from trained medical professionals.
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust will be issuing video appeals and advice on how to treat common ailments on social media in the coming days to drive home the message to keep emergency centres for those in need.
