IN the past year 85 patients unnecessarily attended Warrington Hospital’s A&E unit - averaging one visit per month between them.

These patients were also responsible for 664 ambulance call outs in the same period. Such visits to A&E departments in Cheshire cost taxpayers £9.25 million a year, according to figures released by NHS North West.

Seven out of every 10 people who go to A&E in Warrington are not admitted to a hospital bed and almost half of these attendances are classed as minor injury or illness.

Each day Warrington Hospital’s A&E team have to deal with minor illnesses such as coughs and colds, backache and upset stomachs.

Rising attendances are putting hospitals and ambulance services in the north west as a whole under increasing pressure.

More than 177,000 more people used A&E in 2009/10 than in 2008/09, while the cost of providing services across the region went up by nine per cent last year to £317 million.

Now a new campaign, called Choose Well, is reminding people to stop and think before they set off for hospital.

Dr Rita Robertson, director of public health for Warrington, said: “These figures are alarming. It seems that people are forgetting the purpose of A&E departments.”

“I think that we need to get back to the message that A&E departments are for life-threatening and emergency conditions, such as heart attacks, strokes, breathing problems and serious accidents.

“We need to make sure that our hospital A&E teams are caring for people with serious or life threatening conditions.

“Through our campaign we want educate people about using the right service to get the right treatment. We really need to get people on our side with this issue.”

For more information visit warrington-pct.nhs.uk/health&wellbeing/choosewell.html