Hospital A&E urges people to attend only in life-threatening situation as department 'really busy'

A hospital trust has urged people only to attend their A&E department if in an emergency or life-threatening situation as it is 'really busy' today (March 7). Bolton NHS Foundation Trust says people face long waits in the department today.

They are reassuring people that they are always there when needed but are recommending people use NHS's 111 service to check if they do need to go to A&E.

In a statement, the hospital said: "Our Emergency Department is really busy today, meaning you could face long waits to be seen.

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"We're always here to help, but please only attend if your condition is an emergency or life-threatening. If you're unsure, 111.nhs.uk has lots of advice and support."

The Manchester Evening News reported last week that A&E departments across the region have been mired in huge attendance numbers in recent months. Resources have been and continue to be stretched. At their worst, all of the hospital trusts in the region declared themselves to be on the highest alert level in the week approaching Christmas.

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