People are being urged to avoid using A&E at Southport and Ormskirk hospitals unless they have a serious injury or illness, or face a life-threatening emergency.



Southport hospital in particular is extremely busy after a weekend which saw four-out-of-five patients on Saturday needing more thorough clinical assessment, investigation or observation before they could be treated.



Therese Patten, Chief Operating Officer, said: “Local health and social care services are working closely to get patients the care they need where and when they need it. However, we also need our community’s help to keep our hospitals moving at this challenging time.



“Please use A&E services only if you need them and think carefully before calling an ambulance.



“If you have a friend, relative or loved already in hospital, you can also help by supporting our staff to get them ready when it’s time to go home.”



A&E is for people with serious injuries or illness, or life-threatening emergencies such as severe chest pains, breathing difficulties, loss of consciousness or bleeding that won’t stop.



Contact a GP or a GP out of hours service for help with injuries or illnesses that won’t go away.



For people needing urgent help with minor illnesses or injuries no appointment is necessary at a walk-in centre. West Lancashire Health Centre at Ormskirk hospital is open from 8am to 7.30pm all year round. Skelmersdale NHS Walk-in Centre at The Concourse is open from 8am to 7.30pm weekdays and from 9am to 5pm on weekends.



NHS 111 is the NHS non-emergency number. It’s fast, easy and free. Call 111 and speak to a highly trained adviser, supported by healthcare professionals. They will ask you a series of questions to assess your symptoms and immediately direct you to the best medical care for you.



Local pharmacists and the NHS Choices website are also a good source of information and advice.



Coughs, colds, sore throats, upset stomachs, general aches and pains, and flu will usually clear up on their own. Keep warm, drink plenty of fluids and, if appropriate, treat with over-the-counter painkillers such as paracetamol.

That’s fine, but what are you supposed to do when your own doctor flatly refuses to see you.

Simple, £25 charge at reception. Waiting times will be down to
less than 2 hours and costs way down.

Originally Posted by ausard2

Simple, £25 charge at reception. Waiting times will be down to less than 2 hours and costs way down.

If it is a self-inflicted Alcohol related injury,as they got too drunk and have injured themselves,then charge these patients,before for any treatment is needed,as the waiting room is usually full of people like that,especially at the weekends,and a sober person then has to wait before them to get their treatment.

Unless of course a serious injury to a drunken,intoxicated person IS potentially a life threatening type of injury.

Here's another initiative they could try - those attending A&E just for a Doctor to have a look at them for an RTA 'soft tissue' injury claim - charge £100 per person, up front.

Picking up a prescription the other week at St Marks Medical centre i just noticed a "wipeboard" at reception:-

Missed appointments October 479
Missed appointments the last week alone 128

Are people that sick??? Seems not!

On Sunday there were no beds, patients were in the corridor and it was standing room only in A&E reception, it is even worse today the patients in the corridor are lined up to the door of the main corridor and there were 11 ambulances & Paramedic cars outside.

Originally Posted by Alikado

On Sunday there were no beds, patients were in the corridor and it was standing room only in A&E reception, it is even worse today the patients in the corridor are lined up to the door of the main corridor and there were 11 ambulances & Paramedic cars outside.

Are u a hospital administrator- No Beds.
And since you were in A&E and no doubt in considerable pain, anxiety, fretful on what was wrong with u since it was A&E.......?

You were still able to count the patients, ambulances, Paramedics etc etc.... Don't make me laugh.

Oh sorry u had a cold!! Hence the article headline??

Originally Posted by paulollie

And since you were in A&E and no doubt in considerable pain, anxiety, fretful on what was wrong with u since it was A&E.......?

You were still able to count the patients, ambulances, Paramedics etc etc.... Don't make me laugh.

Oh sorry u had a cold!! Hence the article headline??

OR - could have been in A&E with a loved one, who was brought in by ambulance due to a life threatening condition, much like I was over the weekend.

Yes, there were a number of ambulance crew in the area - monitoring patients until handed over to a doctors care, and even then after being seen by a doctor, other patients had constant monitoring by ambulance crew, whilst waiting to be allocated a ward/surgery etc.

Monitored by an ambulance crew because not enough nursing staff available!

The usual NHS don't bother us merry go round routine thats trotted out each year.
A triage nurse can weed out people who don't need to be there in minutes.

Many of course who will be there as a last resort because they can't get a GP's appointment and do not know whats wrong with them.

Instead many people within the organisation will wander round from meeting to meeting working out how to avoid patients.

So many work hard in the NHS carrying a significant rump of people who need to work elsewhere.

Originally Posted by paulollie

Are u a hospital administrator- No Beds.
And since you were in A&E and no doubt in considerable pain, anxiety, fretful on what was wrong with u since it was A&E.......?

You were still able to count the patients, ambulances, Paramedics etc etc.... Don't make me laugh.

Oh sorry u had a cold!! Hence the article headline??

Absolutely nothing wrong with me - never was!
No I'm not a hospital administrator or nhs employee either.

I was with my father who has since died, he spent 15 hours in resus before being found a bed.