PEOPLE are being urged not to dial 999 for an ambulance or turn up at hospital A&E departments unless they have a genuine medical emergency.

The plea from NHS Bournemouth and Poole comes as both Poole and the Royal Bournemouth Hospitals experience high demand for their services.

A trust spokeswoman said: “A large number of patients have been admitted to hospital over the last week, which has led to bed pressures across the patch. These are being compounded by the high incidence of flu and the winter sickness bug.

“We have also seen a high number of patients accessing emergency departments and calling 999 for conditions which were not emergencies. We would urge people to use NHS Direct, their pharmacy, GP, or the out of hours service if it is not an emergency.”

She added: “People should avoid hospitals if they have flu, sickness or diarrhoea symptoms whenever possible and should refrain from accessing services in person. If they do need to access a service, it is essential that they telephone prior to arrival and alert staff of their symptoms.”

The latest national figures show that the levels of people seeing GPs for flu-like illness appears to be peaking. But Professor John Watson, head of respiratory diseases at the Health Protection Agency (HPA), warned that the holiday period may have skewed the picture.

“We will have a better idea of the likely trend in the next couple of weeks. Flu is still circulating and we would urge those people in an at risk group to have their vaccine as soon as possible,” he said.