Warrington Hospital has issued a warning that the emergency department is extremely busy ahead of the New Year’s Eve festivities.
Writing on Facebook on the morning of Tuesday December 31, the hospital’s staff urged people to avoid the hospital’s accident and emergency department if possible.
It said: “Warrington Emergency Department is extremely busy. We are experiencing very high attendances at our ED today – as a result, there are very long waits to be seen. Remember – keep ED free for those who are critically ill or inured.”
It signposted residents to call NHS 111 for help and reiterated that if people are ill that the NHS does want to see them. NHS 111 is a free service available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Emergency departments and 999 are for life-threatening emergencies and serious injuries, it added.
Live data from the Warrington and Halton Hospital website shows as of 5.30pm on Tuesday December 31, there are currently 106 patients waiting in A&E at the Lovely Lane site.
There are 44 patients waiting to be seen by either a nurse or a doctor in the department.
And the longest wait to be seen by a medic is currently more than four hours.
Meanwhile, the Runcorn Urgent Care Centre at Halton Hospital has just 11 patients waiting in the department.
Only two patients are waiting to be seen by nurses or doctors and the longest wait to be seen is just 25 minutes. The department is open until 9pm tonight and reopens at 8am on New Year’s Day.
Warrington Hospital’s accident and emergency department is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
