A surge in patients attending accident and emergency departments for minor ailments has left the NHS “heaving” under pressure, say health bosses.
Statistics show increased levels of patient attendance due to minor illnesses and ailments including earaches, coughs and insomnia.
Analysis by the Press Association showed that cases where sore throat was the chief complaint, appointments rose by 77 per cent between 2021/22 and 2022/23, from 191,900 to 340,441.
Hiccups cases also rose by 3 per cent, from 794 to 819 and insomnia cases by six per cent, from 1,265 to 1,343. Earaches rose 22 per cent from 191,387 to 233,723.
The rise has led many health bosses to express concerns of how the NHS has been placed under mounting pressure.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, said: “When people are ill, they want timely care and attention and we cannot expect them to make clinical judgements about how ill they are, nor should we blame them if they access care in a place that might not be best to meet their needs. Unfortunately, the entire NHS is heaving under unsustainable pressures and patients are increasingly looking for any port in the storm.
“While some of the presentations to A&E may not be indicative of a medical ‘emergency’, conditions such as fevers - which saw a 44 per cent increase in admissions over the last year - can be symptomatic of something more serious that needs the skill and expertise of a medical professional to diagnose and treat...”
Other data showed that some 44 per cent more complaints in A&E were for fever compared to the previous year, rising from, 566,531 to 813,609.
In all, 8.6 million attendances resulted in the patient discharged with written advice.
Miriam Deakin, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, said: “The rise in A&E admissions is piling even more pressure on to an already-stretched NHS. Persistent strain on primary care services, including GPs and dentists, means patients often resort to A&E when they cannot access timely care elsewhere.
“Minor ailments such as coughs, earache, fever, nausea and hiccups can and should be managed through more appropriate services, such as pharmacies and NHS 111 online. This could ease pressure on emergency departments, whose priority is to deliver urgent care for those most in need. Boosting capacity of staff, beds and equipment in these settings would also significantly help. However, this requires proper funding and support from the Government.”
