It’s all over the news. Our hospitals are under pressure again, waiting times in A&E are getting longer and the ambulance queues outside are longer than the queue to buy a flat screen TV on Black Friday in Tescos.

But are we creating some of these problems ourselves? Are we simply going to A&E because it’s late and the GP is closed? On the very rare occasions that I have had to visit the Accident and Emergency department of a hospital, there are often people sitting there for a very long time looking relatively “well”.

Surely the clue is in the title? Accident and Emergency.

It’s been well publicised in the press and social media recently that there are many alternatives to simply popping into A&E.

Next time you have toothache or an upset tummy, ask yourself is A&E really the right choice?

I recently looked up my local health board website, there are a huge range of alternatives to blocking up your local emergency department with an illness that could easily and quickly be dealt with somewhere else….

Let’s help the hospitals to help us!