Health bosses have published figures for those who visit A&E unnecessarily, including someone who sought emergency treatment for a broken nail.

NHS Southend Clinical Commissioning Group took the unprecedented step in the face of a rise in emergency room visits for conditions that required not treatment.

The figures show more than 3,500 people attended A&E in the five months between April and August this year who did not require any treatment or medical investigation.

This was 1,555 patients between April and June – 7 per cent of all attendances – and 2,044 patients between July and August – 13 per cent of all attendances.

Dr Caroline Howard, Southend Hospital’s A&E consultant said: “People attending with non-emergency problems will not be treated at Southend Hospital’s emergency department.

“We are very clear that they will be referred back to their GP or appropriate care such as a pharmacy if they attend with a non-emergency problem.

“However it still takes a senior clinician’s time to assess these patients and then explain the course of action to them, which is time that could be better spent on managing those who truly need our expert input with a real emergency.

“A number of people attend believing we will speed things up but this is not the case. We cannot expedite out-patient appointments or investigations booked and cannot refer to any non-emergency clinics.”

Along with the broken fingernail, in the past year patients have turned up with headaches, coughs and colds, toothache and social problems.

Dr Jose Garcia Lobera, chairman of NHS Southend Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “It is important local people remember A&E is an emergency room, intended for patients with serious or life-threatening conditions.

“Many of the conditions we are looking at today are more appropriate for a local GP surgery or even the local pharmacist.

“Some are very minor conditions which patients could care for at home themselves.”

Dr Lobera added: “This is putting enormous pressure on the system and costing the NHS in Southend, Castle Point and Rochford an enormous amount of money.”

With winter on the way Phil Read, the associate director of system resilience for the NHS in south east Essex, said: “We need local people to really think about how they use local health services and ensure they are accessing the right service for their needs.

“Local pharmacists, in particular, are able to offer advice and prescribe medication for a whole range of conditions from coughs and colds, rashes and stings to diarrhoea and vomiting.

“It would also make a big difference this winter if our residents ensured they had received a flu jab.”