The New Year is traditionally a busy time for hospitals, and we, along with trusts across the country, are seeing a large number of patients in our emergency departments (EDs) at the moment.

So our expert teams can focus on the most critically ill patients – please only come to our EDs if you really need to.

There are lots of ways you can get the care you need for you or your family much more quickly, and without putting additional pressure on our emergency teams who are trained to care for the sickest patients.

Unless it’s an emergency, your GP should always be your first port of call when you do need to see someone. If you cannot get an appointment with your GP, you can get an appointment at one of our GP hubs up until 10pm on weeknights, and 8pm at the weekend.  Call  020 3770 1888 between 2pm and 9pm during the week, and 9am and 6pm at the weekend.

You can also call the NHS’s freephone number  111 – not only will you get advice on where to get the care you need; they can also book you a GP hub appointment if you need one.

For many more minor ailments you can self-care at home, or your local pharmacist can provide help and advice.

So please do your bit and remember to only go to A&E in a real emergency – such as choking, chest pain, black outs or severe blood loss, if in doubt, call 111 for advice.

More information is on our get the right care for you page.