“Cure yourself”.

 That’s the message from Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (HCCG) to those who think they need A&E or an ambulance over Christmas-New Year – but don’t.

Today, HCCG launched its effort to ease the pressure on urgent care in the county with the “winter rush” underway.

The view from the 999 frontline is that last year’s rush never really stopped.

HCCG’s contribution is called Choose Well, a  campaign aimed at promoting alternatives to A&E or the ambulance service.

Amongst those alternatives are pharmacies, GPs  NHS 111, or simply “staying at home” to recover.

“The truth is self-care – which means treating yourself – is often the only treatment for minor ailments, such as headaches, colds and flu, or minor injuries like muscle pulls and strains. Your local pharmacy is a great place to go for healthcare advice on many common conditions. And you should visit your GP if you’re still experiencing symptoms of illness after a few days,” said Dr Andy Watts, HCCG chair and Hereford GP.

Wye Valley NHS Trust is gearing up for unrelenting – if not unprecedented – demand  over Christmas-New Year to the extent that “life-threatening emergency” may well define 999 response.

In that definition, the trust was backed this week by  West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) which warned that, with crews under pressure, even minutes spent on calls to minor ailments put lives at risk.

To crews on the road 999 means serious and critical illnesses or  patients that need advanced medical treatment while headed to hospital such as choking, chest pain, stroke, serious blood loss or unconsciousness.

In the last year alone, WMAS received more than 28,500 calls in Herefordshire, a figure representing more than 15 per cent of the county’s population. 

A high percentage of those cases were non-urgent for minor ailments and injuries.

At the furthest extreme of those non-urgent 999 calls were “wart on a finger, “headache after a night out” and “stubbed toe”.

The county’s St John Ambulance Service is also offering support through a local application of the service’s national #SaveSanta campaign.

As well as taking the pressure off the 999 network, #SaveSanta is also about teaching first aid tips to stop calls coming in.

St John volunteers will be at events all over the country – including the Carol Services at Hereford Cathedral on December 22-23 – over the festive season with first aid advice on hand.