PEOPLE in Bolton are being urged to stay away from A&E after the Royal Bolton Hospital was swamped by record numbers of patients seeking care.

Today Health bosses from NHS Bolton CCG warned that the Accident and Emergency unit was full and told residents to only attend if they had “a serious injury or life-threatening condition”.

Instead Bolton health chiefs advised that people sought advice from GPs and pharmacists first to be directed to the right service.

Chief operating officer at Royal Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, Andy Ennis, said: “The vast majority of people who attend A&E come for good reason. There is a proportion who potentially could be seen in the community. 

“What we want to see is the general public taking a proactive approach and looking at the alternatives before coming to A&E. It’s a simple message A&E is not ‘anything and everything’. 

“While doctors, nurses and our medical staff are assessing people who could have been seen elsewhere, it is time potentially taken away from someone else who may be in desperate need of help. 

“Our staff are doing a brilliant job at managing this demand but we have to work together, health and social services together with the public to solve this problem.” 

In recent weeks the Royal Bolton and hospitals around Greater Manchester have been “particularly busy”, meaning patients have faced longer waiting times, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust said.

On average the town’s A&E department sees around 300 patients every day.

However over the Easter period this has jumped to about 400 patients, and on Monday the department saw a new record of 427.

Mr Ennis noted that the trust was also seeing patient numbers up 17 per cent on the previous year.

Dr Barry Silvert, clinical director for commissioning at Bolton CCG, said: “The Easter weekend has seen unprecedented numbers of people attending A&E. Many of these patients genuinely do require emergency treatment. We would wish to remind people that A&E is for serious injuries and life-threatening conditions only. 

“We would encourage people to consider alternatives before attending A&E. Your local pharmacist is medically trained to deal with minor health concerns. Your GP practice should be your next port of call - they are able to offer out-of-hours appointments for people who find difficulty in attending during normal hours. 

“There are two Bank Holidays in May. When your GP surgery is closed if you ring their number you will automatically be directed to the out-of-hours service. Please, unless you have been injured in an accident or have a very urgent and serious medical problem, consider contacting your GP first.”

To better manage the swelling stream of patients, several initiatives and significant investment have been put into the Royal Bolton's A&E department.

This includes £3.2 million spent on modernising the department and on systems to segment patients in priority order. 

The hospital also has a triage service to guide people arriving at A&E to alternative services.