AS Accident and Emergency Care struggles to cope people in Ludlow and south Shropshire are being urged to look at alternatives.

Health chiefs are warning that a visit to Accident and Emergency should be reserved for serious or life-threatening conditions.

There has been a large increase in demand locally and leading doctors are advising people suffering from minor illness or injuries to use other more appropriate health services, allowing hospitals to focus on those people with serious conditions who need to be seen urgently.

Alternative sources of care for non-critical ailments include pharmacies, NHS 111 and minor injuries units.

People can also call Shropdoc the GP out-of-hours service on 0333 222 66 55.

Dr John Jones, a consultant gastroenterologist and deputy medical director at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, which runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford has spoken out about the pressures at Accident and Emergency teams are under.

“Our hospitals continue to face incredibly high levels of demand, as are hospitals across the country,” he said.

“In the first three days of last week alone, we saw almost 1,000 patients attending our A&E Departments.

“Of these, a total of 303 arrived by ambulance. A total of 251 people who attended our A&Es were admitted, while a further 211 were admitted to our hospitals during these three days after being referred to our acute medical units.

“We know that for some, a journey to A&E is essential; but we also know that there are many people who do not need the specialist care that our A&Es provide.

“Once again we would ask people to please think carefully about alternative local services. These do not provide less of a service for non-urgent conditions, but can help people avoid what can be a lengthy and stressful visit to hospital.”

Dr Julian Povey, chairman of Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group is reminding people that there are alternatives.

"Your own GP practice, Shropdoc, NHS 111 or local pharmacies are all great places to seek medical advice from for minor injuries or illnesses, which mean a long wait at A&E is not needed and those that need to be seen urgently, can be,” added Dr Povey.