HOSPITAL chiefs are appealing to residents across Darlington and County Durham to consider avoiding going to A&E if at all possible.

In a joint statement, NHS professionals from County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust and the area’s three Clinical Commissioning Groups – Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield CCG, North Durham CCG and Darlington CCG - have urged patients only go to A&E in genuine medical emergencies.

The group said hospitals had seen around 1,000 more patients going to A&E at Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham with symptoms such as ear ache, coughs and colds and sore throats than in the same period from January 1 to February 8 last year.

Over the most recent weekend, from February 5 to 7 alone, there were 1,054 attendances at the A&E departments.

They said: “The emergency departments at University Hospital of North Durham and Darlington Memorial Hospital are seeing large numbers of patients and the departments are very busy."

A spokeswoman for the hospital trust said while it was not the worst they had seen in terms of people heading to A&E it was still a growing problem.

The statement added: “Medical teams within the hospitals are working extremely hard to provide patients with the best possible care, but we urgently need to remind the public that A&E is for serious accidents and life-threatening emergencies only.

"There are other options available including your local GP practices and pharmacists or if you are unsure about which service you might need then the NHS 111 can offer advice.

“There are lots of very unwell people who do need our care and treatment. We are calling on the support of our local populations across County Durham and Darlington to allow us to look after the people who need us most.

“Please use A&E wisely and think carefully before attending hospital.”