Lack of prompt access to primary care blamed for rise in hospital cases of minor ailments including blocked noses
Millions of people are turning to A&E departments in England for minor ailments including coughs, blocked noses and hiccups, according to data that health leaders say lays bare a failure to give patients prompt access to primary care.
Emergency wards are designed for serious injuries and life-threatening emergencies only. But many are becoming swamped with patients whose health concerns should be dealt with elsewhere, including a near tenfold increase in people seeking help for a cough.
A&E attendances for hiccups, dizziness and a myriad of other minor conditions have also soared. The trend of patients heading to emergency departments with non-emergency symptoms is underlined by the fact that doctors found nothing wrong with more than 2 million A&E patients in 2024-25.
It comes as Wes Streeting, the health secretary, faces pressure to show he is making progress after a year and a half in charge of the NHS. Last month Prof Kamila Hawthorne, Britain’s most senior GP, told the Guardian that surgeries wanted to hire more doctors to meet demand for primary care but could not afford to do so because of a lack of core funding.
