Record number of patients attend district's A&E departments

And Yorkshire Ambulance Service had to draft in extra staff at the weekend to cope with a rise of nearly a third in emergency calls as snow fell and temperatures plunged.

A total of 10,596 people have been seen at Bradford Royal Infirmary during December up to yesterday with increases also experienced on Christmas Day and Boxing Day compared to last year.

Airedale Hospital reported treating more than 1,000 people in its Emergency Department over the festive period, calculated from Monday, December 22, to Sunday, December 28.

A spokesman for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs BRI, said part of the increase could be blamed on people attending A&E without the need for emergency treatment.

He said: “We urge people to consider their options before attending the Emergency Department, which is for those who are suffering from a serious illness or major injury.

"Many people who attend hospital Emergency Departments do not need to go to hospital – they could be treated more quickly by their GP, their local pharmacist who can offer advice on common illnesses and the best medicine to treat them, or even by themselves with basic self-care and first aid.

"It is important that people make the right choices with their healthcare because it can help the NHS treat people in the most effective way and allow busy services such as the Emergency Department to concentrate on helping those most in need.”

An Airedale Hospital spokesman also confirmed this year's admissions figures was an increase on last year.

Stacey Hunter, director of operations at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We have had an extremely busy Christmas and we apologise to people who have attended our A&E and had to wait longer than we would have liked due to the number of people seeking help over the bank holidays and the weekend - we have seen more than 1,000 people in our emergency department over the festive period.

“As the temperatures are expected to stay very cold for the next few days we would ask people to check on older relatives and neighbours and encourage them not to go out in the icy conditions unless it is a necessity."

Meanwhile, Yorkshire Ambulance Service saw a 30 per cent increase in demand for its 'red', or immediately life threatening, calls services over the post-Christmas weekend.

On Saturday, the service also received a 56 per cent rise in calls to NHS 111, the health advice phone line, with a total of almost 20,000 calls coming in over December 27 and 28.

On these two days, it also received 4,082 999 calls, 2,095 of these were categorised as 'red'. Its NHS 111 received 19,638 calls over the same period, a rise of 7,092 calls on the same period in 2013.

There was also a 90 per cent rise in calls to NHS 111 recorded on Boxing Day.

Dr David Macklin, executive director of operations, said: “This increase in demand to 999 is unlikely to fall over the New Year period and while we do not want to deter people from calling 999 in serious cases such as heart attack, breathing difficulties or stroke, we do need people to think very carefully about their options and consider whether they really need an ambulance or there is another option available to them."

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