Renewed appeal to stay away from busy Wigan A&E

Hospital bosses are again urging people to stay away from Wigan Infirmary's A&E department unless they are in a serious or life-threatening condition.
Wigan Infirmary's A&E departmentWigan Infirmary's A&E department
Wigan Infirmary's A&E department

The hospital is experiencing another surge in demand for its services.

There have been repeated appeals in recent months for people to seek treatment elsewhere when possible to ease the pressure on A&E.

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People are advised that if they do go to A&E and their condition is not considered to be serious, they will have to wait until a doctor can see them, which is likely to be more than four hours.

Mary Fleming, director of operations, said: “Our message is simple – if you have a serious urgent medical emergency, go to A&E or dial 999. For everything else please seek out the most appropriate healthcare provider such as a GP or pharmacist.

“Unnecessary attendances to our A&E prevent doctors and nurses from seeing and treating those patients who need urgent care quickly. In addition it is putting a huge strain on the hospital as a whole.

“With the support of the public we can make sure that we are focusing the right level of attention on our very poorly patients who are suffering serious medical emergencies.”

Alternative sources of treatment include the extended GP service, Leigh walk-in centre and pharmacies.