A PATIENT visited A&E in Worcestershire with a paper cut this week.

Only a third of people attending Worcestershire Royal Hospital on Tuesday, February 11 needed to be admitted.

About a third of those who were not admitted had only minor ailments including coughs, colds, sore throats and, in one case, a paper cut.

As a result hospital bosses are again urging people in Worcestershire only to visit A&E if they are seriously ill and to instead contact their GP, a minor injury unit or the NHS 111 telephone line for medical advice.

Chief clinical officer for NHS South Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Group Dr Carl Ellson said: “A&E is there to care for people who really need it.

“Please take a moment to think about how you'd feel if your relative was seriously ill and had to wait longer for treatment.”

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust’s chief medical officer Mark Wake said A&E departments in the county were extremely busy.

“In order to keep patients flowing through our hospitals and to keep patients safe we continue to work closely with partners across health and social care to ensure that those patients who no longer need an acute hospital bed are moved to a more appropriate setting such as a community hospital bed.

“Whilst we will always seek to find a suitable community bed nearest to the patients’ home, at times of greatest pressure this is something that cannot be guaranteed.”

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