Minor A&E Visits Surge Across England Amid Rising Pressure

Published: 31 December 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

England’s hospitals are witnessing a dramatic rise in minor A&E visits, as millions of patients seek emergency care for conditions like coughs, sore throats, hiccups, and blocked noses. NHS data reveals that these minor A&E visits have nearly doubled over the past five years, highlighting growing pressure on emergency departments designed for serious injuries. Health leaders warn that the surge in minor A&E visits reflects a wider failure to provide timely access to primary care, leaving patients with little choice but to attend hospital emergency units.

Emergency departments, intended for life-threatening emergencies, are now seeing record numbers of minor A&E visits. In 2024-25 alone, 2.2 million patients were recorded with no detectable abnormalities, while attendances for cough rose from 44,000 in 2020-21 to 435,728. Hiccups increased from 587 to 1,093, and back pain cases almost doubled, reflecting how minor ailments are consuming significant hospital resources. Experts say the persistent growth of minor A&E visits is straining staff and limiting the capacity to treat genuine emergencies.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting faces pressure to demonstrate progress after eighteen months in charge of the NHS. Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the UK’s senior GP, noted that surgeries cannot expand due to limited funding, forcing many patients to turn to A&E for care. Even as people are urged to remain home during flu or Covid symptoms, NHS figures indicate visits continue to climb, particularly during the festive season.

Analysis shows nearly 1.9 million headache cases, 1.4 million cough attendances, one million earache visits, and 290,000 cases of constipation over the past five years. Serious emergencies, such as cardiac arrests and broken hips, remained stable, underscoring the disproportionate rise in visits. Daniel Elkeles, CEO of NHS Providers, stressed that patients should be able to access care locally, avoiding unnecessary pressure on hospitals.

Dr Ian Higginson, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, added that limited primary care hours drive patients to emergency departments, fueling visits. Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, emphasised that many minor illnesses can be treated at pharmacies, with prescription options available, reducing unnecessary hospital visits.

NHS England is working to expand accessible care through NHS 111 online, walk-in centres, and community pharmacies, urging patients to reserve A&E for life-threatening conditions. The Department of Health and Social Care highlighted investments of £1.1 billion, supporting 6.5 million additional GP appointments and new neighbourhood health services. Such measures aim to reduce minor A&E visits and improve patient satisfaction by shifting care closer to home.

Without faster implementation of community-based care, minor A&E visits are likely to continue rising, burdening hospitals and potentially delaying treatment for serious emergencies. Experts emphasise the urgent need for expanded primary care services, more community pharmacies, and accessible diagnostic centres to alleviate the pressure caused by the increasing number of minor A&E visits across England.

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