Herefordshire residents are being urged to only attend Hereford County Hospital’s Emergency Department for serious injuries or illnesses, following a surge in attendances and hospital admissions during the Easter weekend.

Jon Barnes, chief operating officer at Wye Valley NHS Trust, said: “We’re extremely busy caring for the high number of patients admitted to our hospitals during the Easter Weekend. Nearly 600 people attended the Emergency Department between Good Friday to Easter Monday, more than 160 of these patients required admission to our hospitals and many remain in our care.

“Unfortunately, this means that we’ve had to postpone a small number of non-urgent operations to ensure that we can continue to provide acute and emergency care, for medical and surgical emergencies. This is part of our standard procedures to manage high demand on NHS services and we have contacted patients directly regarding this.

“We’re therefore urging people to only attend the Emergency Department for serious injuries, illnesses, conditions, or if it’s life threatening.

“However, it is business as usual for our outpatient services, so patients should attend their appointments as planned. We wish to thank our staff who are working very hard to maintain services for patients in Herefordshire”.

Simon Hairsnape from Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, added: “We’re working closely with Wye Valley NHS Trust, Herefordshire Council’s social care and appropriate services in the community to ensure the required support is available to enable patients who are ready for discharge to return home or receive care in the local community.

“There are a number of NHS alternatives available which local people can access for minor injuries and illnesses and we would urge residents to use these where appropriate. These include: pharmacies, Herefordshire’s Walk-In centre, GP Surgeries, extended hours GP services and minor injury units. If you are unsure which service you need or require non-emergency medical guidance, free advice is available 24 hours a day by calling NHS 111”.

NHS alternatives:

• Telephoning NHS 111

• Visit the Herefordshire Walk-In Centre, by ASDA, Belmont Road, Hereford, which is open 8am- 8pm

• Attend the Ledbury Community Health and Care Centre Minor Injury Unit which is open 24- hours-a-day, or Leominster Community Hospital and Ross-on-Wye Community Hospital Minor Injury Units which are open from 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.

• Visiting Kington Health and Social Care Centre Minor Injury Unit which is open from 8am to 8pm

• Using the Taurus extended hours GP services at Wargrave House Surgery, St Owen Street, Hereford; The Marches Surgery, Westfield Walk, Leominster; and Pendeen Surgery, Kent Avenue, Ross-on-Wye, which are available from 8am to 8pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Visit www.taurushealthcare.co.uk (7 day access)

• Seek advice from your local pharmacy. For more information on local health services, visit www.nhs.uk