Parents and carers are being urged to only bring their children to A&E at Alder Hey Children's Hospital if they need urgent medical attention.

The plea comes as the hospital struggles with "extremely high" patient numbers in their accident and emergency department this afternoon, September 14.

It's the second time the hospital has issued the warning in the last 24 hours through its social media accounts.

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According to its website, current waiting times stand at approximately four hours or more, with higher priority patients being seen to first.

A spokesperson for Alder Hey tweeted: "Please only come to our A&E if your need is urgent. We are currently experiencing extremely high levels of attendance in the Emergency Department

"If your need is not urgent, you could face a lengthy wait

"Our emergency department is available to children and young people for emergency care only. It can get extremely busy so we would ask you to consider alternative options before attending."

The hospital use the following traffic light system to categorise children and young people arriving at A&E based on the medical attention they require:

• Green / see and treat category – we feel your child is safe to wait for a consultation, these children will wait the longest within the department
• Yellow category – your child needs to be seen and will be prioritised but there will still be a wait
• Orange category – Your child needs to be seen urgently, they will be seen as soon as a clinician is available. They will be taken into a room as soon as possible
• Red category – your child is very unwell and needs to be seen immediately

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