HEALTH leaders from South Gloucestershire are urging people to use hospital emergency departments only for genuine life-threatening emergencies following a continued high level of demand.

A “black escalation” status was declared on Monday across the county as well as Bristol and North Somerset, indicating severe pressure on health and care services requiring decisive action by all partners to maintain safe, clinical services.

Local people are also being encouraged to "do their bit" to reduce pressure on the local health system by choosing  the most appropriate service for their needs and avoiding A&E for everything except genuine, life-threatening emergencies.

Bristol CCG clinical lead for urgent care and local GP Dr Peter Goyder said: “In recent days we have seen an increase in hospital admissions together with a higher number of very ill patients who need to stay in hospital for longer.

“We are coping with demand and have put in place a range of measures to increase capacity and ensure that people are discharged once they no longer need specialist hospital services.

“However we do anticipate that we will remain in escalation for a number of days and encourage people to help us manage pressure in the system by using services appropriately and avoiding A&E for non-emergency conditions.

“Local minor injuries units, NHS 111, GPs and pharmacists are all available for fast, local treatment and advice for non-emergency ailments and if people are unsure of where best to go they can call 111 for guidance at any time of day or night.”