Patients in Salford should only attend accident and emergency if they have an ‘urgent need’ this afternoon.
Salford Royal NHS Trust has advised that it is currently experiencing ‘very high levels of demand’ at its A&E clinics on Tuesday afternoon (August 10).
Instead, patients should seek out treatment from other sources if possible, hospital bosses say.
In a post on Facebook, the NHS Trust said: “Please only attend A&E if your need is urgent.
“We are currently experiencing very high levels of demand and attendance.
“Please help us by getting the right care at the right time, from your GP service, dentist or pharmacy.
“Call NHS111 or visit 111.nhs.uk for advice.”
Recently, chiefs at the Northern Care Alliance — which runs hospitals in Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and Salford — say demand for A&E has been ‘unprecedented’.
"In the 20 years I've been on the board, I've not seen a staffing situation like this with respect to demands we have on our staff,” chief executive Raj Jain told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
"Our frontline staff and managers are making really difficult decisions every shift.
"I'm just amazed that we have what would be relatively junior staff in our organisation managing stressful situations in such a professional way and having every regard for the people around them, trying to keep them safe.
"We do need to reinforce the message that's going out to the public of only using emergency departments if you really, really need to.
"But my real message is a message of thank you to our staff.
"We are really recognising the extraordinary pressures they are facing. We know they are doing their best. We will ensure we give them the support we can to make sure they are keeping colleagues and patients as safe as we can."
