Our Emergency Departments are extremely busy | News

Our Emergency Departments are extremely busy

Emergency department sign, A&E sign

Our Emergency Departments (A&Es) at University Hospital Lewisham and Queen Elizabeth Hospital are extremely busy at the moment, so patients may experience a longer wait than usual. 

Please call 111 before you come to A&E for any non-life threatening emergency. They will be able to book you into an A&E timeslot where appropriate. Thank you for your understanding.

An A&E department (also known as emergency department or casualty) deals with genuine life-threatening emergencies, such as:

  • loss of consciousness
  • acute confused state and fits that are not stopping
  • chest pain
  • breathing difficulties
  • severe bleeding that cannot be stopped
  • severe allergic reactions
  • severe burns or scalds
  • stroke
  • major trauma such as a road traffic accident

If you're not sure what to do

NHS 111 can help if you need urgent medical help or you're not sure what to do.

They will ask questions about your symptoms so you get the help you need.

If you need to go to A&E, NHS 111 will book an arrival time. This might mean you spend less time in A&E. This also helps with social distancing.  

You can get help from 111.nhs.uk or call 111. It's available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We have placed cookies on your device to help improve our website. View our cookie policy.

Please choose a setting: