1. Wales
  2. 4 updates

Avoid A&E unless necessary warn health chiefs

Hospital chiefs are urging people to use minor injury units instead of A&E departments unless seriously ill. It comes after Morriston and the Princess of Wales hospitals came under pressure over Christmas.

Live updates

NHS £40 million extra "is panic measure" say Tories

The Welsh Conservatives have described the extra £40 million to help with winter pressures on the NHS as a panic measure by the Welsh Government. They've contrasted today's announcement with how an extra £300 million was allocated in England last November, on top of £400 million previously announced.

This is a last minute panic measure after queues of ambulances outside hospitals and A&E nurses working in conditions that are more stressful than on the frontline in the Iraq War. The UK Government announced additional money months ago to allow the English NHS to plan for winter pressures, in contrast to this eleventh hour decision by Labour at the height of winter.

– Shadow Health Minister Darren Millar AM

Welsh NHS gets extra £40 million for winter pressures

The Welsh Government is giving the NHS an extra £40 million to help it cope with winter pressures on the service. It's equivalent to the £700 million that the UK Government has given to NHS England. The announcement follows a period of sustained pressure over the Christmas and New Year period.

  • GP out-of-hour services had their busiest festive period ever
  • The Welsh Ambulance Service experienced unprecedented demand
  • Hospital emergency departments reported an increase in patients with acute conditions, complex needs and dependency.

This additional investment in our health service will help our NHS deal with the significant pressures the service is facing – pressures that are being experienced across the UK as a result of increased demand from an influx of sick patients. Winter is a very busy period for our health, social care and social services – but our urgent and emergency care services, in particular, are seeing significant extra demand on their services.

I want to thank staff who are working tirelessly, often in difficult situations, to ensure that those people who have needed urgent and emergency care have received high-quality treatment and services and have been treated with care and compassion.

– Health Minister Mark Drakeford AM

Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething has appealed to the public to consider whether they need to go to A&E when they are injured or unwell. He said people should ask themselves if another local health service can help or if they can look after themselves with advice from NHS Direct.

Advertisement

Find your local Minor Injury Unit in Wales

Following the warning from hospital chiefs to avoid using A&E departments, here is a list of all the Minor Injury Units (MIUs) in Wales which can be used as an alternative to A&E, unless you are seriously ill:

Health chiefs warn to avoid A&E unless necessary

Hospital chiefs are urging us to use minor injury units instead of A&E departments unless seriously ill.

Pressure on A&E increased over the Christmas period Credit: PA

It comes after Morriston and the Princess of Wales hospitals came under pressure over Christmas.

Consultants say more people using the minor injury units will mean shorter waiting times.

If more patients used Minor Injury Units they would not only have much shorter waits on the whole, but it would free up Emergency Department staff to treat patients who are very sick

– Andy Macnab, Consultant in Emergency Medicine
Back to top