SAVE A&E for when you need it - that is the message to patients from Gwent health chiefs keen to stem the rising tide of 'inappropriate' attendances in accident and emergency departments.

A&E units across Wales have had to deal with increasing numbers of patients in recent years, and the last couple of months have been particularly difficult due to the severe winter weather and flu.

Estimates as to the level of inappropriate attendances vary, but Royal Gwent A&E has been sending home up to 40 per cent of people coming in by ambulance in recent times, and a similar proportion of people who arrive under their own steam are deemed not to need accident and emergency.

Now Aneurin Bevan Health Board has launched a campaign, called Save A&E For When You Need It, which focuses initially on Newport residents and those who come into the Royal Gwent A&E department with non-emergency ailments.

This is because figures show a link between inappropriate attendance and proximity to A&E, while Newport has a higher than average A&E attendance among its GP-registered population.

The focus is on educating people on when it is appropriate to seek help from A&E, rather than delivering an anti-A&E message.

Posters bearing the campaign title are being displayed in the Royal Gwent and in all GP surgeries, clinics, libraries and leisure centres in Newport.

A flyer is also being distributed by A&E staff to patients deemed to have been inappropriate attenders, with details of primary care and other NHS services.

The campaign will run until the end of March, and in future it might be repeated and extended to include Nevill Hall Hospital's A&E department.