Cumbria hospital trust urges public to ‘choose wisely’ as A&E departments face ongoing pressure
Bosses say people should only go to A&E if it's a genuine emergency
The trust running A&E departments in Carlisle and Whitehaven says their A&E departments are still under pressure, but the situation is improving.
The departments at West Cumberland Hospital and Cumberland Infirmary have been seeing very high levels of demand due to the impact of the recent hot weather.
They've particularly seen a large number of patients with long term health or respiratory conditions.
Bosses say people should only go to A&E if it's a genuine emergency.
"big increase"
Speaking about the demand, Executive Chief Operating Officer Imran Devji said:
“We have seen a high level of demand on our A&E departments at both West Cumberland Hospital and Cumberland Infirmary, particularly on Sunday and Monday.
"The period of hot weather last week is likely to have contributed to the big increase in poorly people attending, particularly those who have long term health or respiratory conditions.
"I would like to thank our patients for their patience, and say thank you to our colleagues for their hard work in managing these pressures and keeping our patients safe.”