The College of Emergency Medicine data, the first of its kind, reveals nearly 5,500 patients a day leave emergency units without needing any treatment.
College President Dr Cliff Mann says the extra workload, which could have been dealt with by a pharmacist or GP, is pushing emergency medicine into “collapse” and putting the lives of patients in genuine urgent need at risk.
A Sunday Express investigation has discovered that over the past year people have gone to A&E departments for trivial problems including chewing gum in their hair, broken false nails, a splinter, headaches and feeling sick.