Patients have been warned of long waiting times as Southampton's A&E department is ‘exceptionally busy’.

The department at Southampton General Hospital is facing high levels of demand today.

People are urged to only attend in life-threatening emergencies.

For other urgent medical needs, people should consider local urgent treatment centres (UTCs) where they can be seen ‘much quicker for less-severe conditions’.

The current wait time for the Southampton UTC is three and a half hours.

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In a post on Facebook, University Hospital Southampton said: “Our emergency department is exceptionally busy right now.

“Some patients are currently experiencing long waits. You will be redirected to alternative services if you arrive at A&E requiring minor care.

“At 10am this morning, the wait time at Southampton UTC was one hour.

“You can find updated wait times, as well as information about what they can treat here: https://www.southamptonutc.nhs.uk/

“For those in the New Forest area, you can visit https://lymingtonutc.nhs.uk/

“Also think NHS 111 when you are unsure which services are right for you.”