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Stay away from A&E unless you absolutely need to be there.

That's the message from NHS staff in Northumberland and North Tyneside, as emergency waiting rooms fill to bursting point on Sunday afternoon.

In a Facebook post labelled an 'URGENT NHS UPDATE', a spokesperson for the Northumbria Health Care NHS Foundation Trust said: "Our A&E is *very* busy today.

"It is for cases where there is immediate need of critical or lifesaving care - if you attend & are not assessed as being this you *will* face a long (6-8 hour) wait or be asked to use another service."

Those unsure whether or not A&E was appropriate for them were urged to dial 111. The telephone and online triage service helps people with urgent medical problems check which service is best placed to help them.

Urgent GP appointments can be arranged through the service for people who are in need of same-day help, but should not be filling A&E waiting rooms.

The Northumbria trust runs hospitals in Northumberland and North Tyneside, with its A&E department housed in the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital , near Cramlington.

Staff at the hospital have spoken out in the past about the pressure caused by people visiting with minor injuries, which could be dealt with elsewhere, making it harder to get help to those who urgently need it.