Our busy A&E departments - for emergencies only | News | Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals

Front of the main hospital buildings at St Helier and the front of our emergency Department at Epsom

Our busy A&E departments - for emergencies only

Local people are being urged to only come to the A&E departments at Epsom and St Helier hospitals in genuine emergencies, as the hospitals and their A&E departments are extremely busy.

We are seeing high numbers of sick people and our hospitals are very busy indeed. Therefore we would ask those with a condition that is not urgent or life threatening to contact their GP, local pharmacist or call NHS 111.

We would also ask people not to come to hospital if they have experienced diarrhoea and vomiting within the last 48 hours. Stomach bugs can be highly contagious and can badly impact on patients in our care.

As our hospitals remain very busy at the moment, patients coming to A&E who do not need emergency care are likely to be in for a long wait. You can find more information about alternative NHS services here and follow the Twitter hashtag #helpushelpyou for advice.