PATIENTS across Monmouthshire who could be seen at minor injuries units across Gwent are adding to the pressure the NHS is under at this time of year by turning up at the area’s main hospital the Grange.

In a statement issued yesterday health chiefs urged the public not to turn up at the Grange Hospital with non-life threatening injuries but to attend local GP surgeries or minor injury units in Nevill Hall Hospital, Abergavenny or the Gwent in Newport

The appeal went out as hospitals across the UK are reporting extreme pressure in their Emergency Departments (EDs) – and the situation in Gwent is no different.

The ED at The Grange University Hospital saw 340 patients on Monday, which resulted in many patients with non-life threatening conditions waiting up to 12 hours to be seen by a doctor.

On a usual day, the ED sees between 140 and 220 patients.

Yesterday there were already 100 patients in the ED (by 10am) and hospital chiefs are appealing to people to only visit The Grange University Hospital with serious or life-threatening illnesses.

Dr Alastair Richards, Clinical Director, said: “We are currently seeing around a 30 per cent increase in the number of patients in ED, compared to a usual busy day.

“We know that around 300 people who turn up at The Grange University Hospital each week have minor illnesses that could be treated elsewhere.

‘’With things as they are at the moment, people attending with such minor illnesses are likely to be waiting a very long time to be seen.”

The message from Anueran Bevan Health Board is please call 111 for advice, or use the online NHS Wales symptom checker, before attending the Emergency Department.

For non-life threatening illnesses please visit with your local pharmacist, or contact your GP surgery – please remember that their staff are also working under significant pressure.

Alternatively, if you have a minor injury, please visit the Minor Injury Units in Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr, Nevill Hall Hospital, the Royal Gwent Hospital, or Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan.

“Our staff are doing an incredible job under extreme pressure and we’d like to thank them for their dedication to patients at this time,” said Dr Richards.