A senior consultant at Harrogate District Hospital has urged people not to visit the emergency department unless necessary due to an ‘unprecedented’ number of patients.

Dr Helen Law, a consultant in emergency medicine, spoke after figures revealed the number of people seeking treatment had risen by 23 per cent compared with two years ago.

Over seven days from June 1 this year, 1,115 patients attended the emergency department compared with 939 patients during the same period in 2019, pre-covid.

The figures were released by West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts, which represents six NHS trusts in Yorkshire. The six trusts together have seen an average rise in the number of emergency patients over the same period of 17%.

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Dr Law said:

“We are seeing unprecedented numbers of people seeking treatment at our hospital and I know the situation is the same across West Yorkshire.

“We are highlighting this because at the current rate it is simply not sustainable to treat this many people on any long-term basis.

“Emergency departments are seeing significant numbers of patients seeking treatment for issues that are non-emergencies.

“Everyone in the NHS is here because we want to make people better and no one would ever say, ‘Don’t come to hospital’.

“But I would urge anyone planning on coming to the emergency department to ask themselves: ‘Is this an emergency?'”

The increase in patients is not believed to be linked to coronavirus.

The number of covid patients has remained low at Harrogate District Hospital over summer and currently number just three.

People have been urged to think carefully before going to the emergency department at Harrogate District Hospital.

The hospital issued a statement yesterday saying the department had seen a significant increase in patient numbers over the past couple of months.

About 130 patients a day attended the department in March, compared with 160 a day in May.

This meant patients with less urgent issues were waiting longer to be seen.

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Dr Matt Shepherd, consultant emergency medicine and clinical director long term and unscheduled care at the hospital, urged people to call NHS 111 first unless it was a life-threatening illness or injury.

He said:

“We are now seeing approximately eight per cent more patients attending our emergency department than were doing so before covid began, which makes it very difficult to ensure we can safely keep social distancing measures in place.

“Colleagues in the department – and the wider hospital – are working incredibly hard to provide care but we do ask that people think about other healthcare options available to them.

“The most urgent and life-threatening cases take priority, which means that unfortunately people coming in with less urgent issues are experiencing longer waiting times. Our emergency department is for emergencies only, such as severe chest pain, difficulty breathing, significant head injuries and broken bones.”

He added that alternatives, such as calling NHS 111, consulting a GP or visiting a pharmacist, could mean waiting less time to receive care. He added:

“You can also check any symptoms and find out what to do and when to get help using the NHS website – nhs.uk. It can find services near you, such as local pharmacies, who can offer advice for common health problems such as sore throats and headaches, aches and pains, bumps and bruises or sickness and diarrhoea.”