Kent and Canterbury... one of the hospital in the east Kent cluster

by James Snaith

Patients have been urged to steer clear of A&E in east Kent this bank holiday unless in a serious or life-threatening condition.

The warning comes just a month after extra beds, doctors and nurses were called on at Ashford’s William Harvey, Margate’s Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Kent and Canterbury hospitals because of a huge increase in the number of patients.

It is something East Kent hospitals want to avoid this bank holiday as a number of extra beds are still in place at their sites across the county.

Karina Greenan, divisional head of nursing for urgent care and long term conditions at East Kent Hospitals said: “We’ve got extra beds across all our hospitals at the moment, not to the extent we had in April, but it places extra pressure on the medical and nursing staff so we are certainly not in an optimal position to cope with a huge influx.”

She added that other options were available: “Phoning your GP where there are helplines and you can see out-of-hours services.

“You can go to a pharmacy or supermarket where they can give you advice over the counter so that you are not sitting in A&E unnecessarily.”

She also urged people to consider the non-emergency 111 phone service.

Ms Greenan said: "111 is a national programme and I think people still need to contact it and see the help and advice they are able to provide to them.

“I would not say it is the most perfect arrangement and I think nationally there is an acceptance it hasn’t been as effective as it might have been, but I think it is still there as a resource for people to use.”

With Bank Holiday Monday expected to be the hottest day of the year for some parts of Kent, sunseekers have also been reminded to drink plenty of water and use suncream.

Dr Navin Kumta, chair of NHS Ashford Clinical Commissioning Group said: “It is particularly important for older people and young children to avoid sunburn and dehydration.”

“A&E is for serious or life-threatening accidents or illnesses. Please keep it free for those who really need the specialist treatment it provides.”