Nettle stings, paper cuts and broken nails are among some of the daft reasons why patients go to Kirklees and Calderdale A&Es.

Health bosses revealed that patients have also been turning up at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and Calderdale Royal Hospital, Halifax, during the winter with coughs and colds, sore throats and earache.

Local emergency departments have also been plagued with patients attending with long-standing aches and pains that do not require emergency care – as well as conjunctivitis and skin conditions.

And some hospitals have witnessed patients turning up at their A&Es with prescription requests.

According to Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust (MYHT), which manages Dewsbury District Hospital, one in four A&E patients could care for themselves, or get treatment from an alternative service such as a pharmacy, out-of-hours GP or NHS 111.

MYHT A&E consultant Andy Matson said having to deal with non-emergencies was “frustrating.”

A&E consultant Andy Matson of Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust

He said: “These are clearly not emergencies and should not be coming to an emergency department.

“While I’m seeing these people this is taking my specialist skill set in emergency care away from the critically ill people who really need it.

“It’s certainly frustrating because people don’t sometimes understand what the emergency department is for.”

Already overstretched emergency departments experience a rise in patients during winter, particularly during the holiday season.

MYHT emergency medicine chief, Dr Sarah Robertshaw, said: “Winter is a time when we see more and more people in our A&E departments, whether it’s with broken bones from falling on the ice, or as a result of flu.”

Greater Huddersfield CCG lead for emergency care, Dr David Hughes, said that GP surgeries, the NHS 111 service and pharmacies were better placed to deal with non-emergencies.

Dr David Hughes

The Holmfirth GP said: “Most urgent problems are not life-threatening. If you aren’t sure either contact your own GP, if the surgery is open, or ring 111, who will be able to assess quickly what urgent service is appropriate for you, including sending a 999 ambulance if needed.

“This will often mean being seen closer to your own home and without a long wait in hospital.

“It also means the ambulance service and A&E are then free to deal with the more serious life-threatening conditions more quickly and effectively. One day that might be you!”

You can find out which pharmacies are open over Christmas and New Year by visiting: www.greaterhuddersfieldccg.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Bank-Holiday-Opening-Dec-16-and-Jan-17.pdf