THE public is being urged to stay away from GP surgeries unless vital as health services brace themselves for the worst this winter.

Hospital and healthcare bosses fear services will become stretched over the next few months due to people overloading emergency rooms and GP surgeries with common winter illnesses.

And they are asking for the public’s help to reduce pressure on doctors’ surgeries, emergency departments and walk-in centres to make sure medics are focused on the most serious cases.

That means people with coughs, colds and sniffles are urged to stay in bed, call the NHS helpline on 111 or consult a pharmacy.

Solent NHS Trust, which runs some Southampton GP surgeries and Bitterne Walk-In Centre, is recruiting more nurses to work in GP surgeries to help patients get same-day appointments and reduce workloads for under-pressure doctors.

Recently appointed Solent boss Sue Harriman said: “Often people want to go and see their GP about something but can’t get an appointment and find it’s actually easier to sit in the hospital emergency department for four hours.

“We don’t want that; we want to make it easier for people to get treatment so they don’t go to hospital.

“Pharmacies are very good at giving advice or signposting to where you need to go. And the 111 line is able to help the majority of people who use walk-in centres.”

And Mrs Harriman said this winter was going to be even more difficult than usual because services would be under more scrutiny to hit their targets due to the upcoming General Election.

For example – the emergency department at Southampton General Hospital, run by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, aims to deal with 95 per cent of patients within four hours – a target it is not reaching.

Mrs Harriman said: “It does feel like there is increased scrutiny and I think we should consider that as a positive and that people are interested in seeing how the NHS works.“Winter is difficult every year and it’s about having the right services in the right place and for people to be able to access them early and appropriately.”

As reported by the Daily Echo, it comes weeks after UHS announced it was recruiting a small army of 15 nurses and healthcare assistants to brace itself against extra winter demand.

Meanwhile Solent had been involved in the initial decision to shut Bitterne Walk-In Centre and replace its services by using its 12 nurses in GP surgeries and district nursing schemes.

The decision was reversed after a request from city councillors but the pilots will continue and the trust is recruiting more nurses to run the services.

They are set to start in January, funded by a £600,000 winter pressure grant from the Government to Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group, which governs GPs in the city.

What you can do:

• Call 111 – the NHS non-urgent line can help diagnose and advise about minor illnesses and injuries. If unsure about a health problem 111 can be the first port of call rather than spending hours in a waiting room.

•  Consult a pharmacist about medication or minor health problems as they should be able to point you in the direction of the appropriate service.

•  Drink more milk – according to the NHS website, people are 80 per cent more likely to catch a cold in winter and drinking milk is a good source of vitamins A and B12 which strengthen the immune system.

•  Regular exercise can also boost the immune system so try ice skating or go for winter walks with the family.

•  Sleep – humans naturally sleep more in winter because of longer nights and between seven and nine hours per night boosts health and wellbeing.