Patients that do not have serious or life-threatening conditions could be sent away from emergency wards as the county’s hospitals come under increased pressure.

Almost 13,000 patients visited the emergency wards at Watford and Hemel Hempstead hospitals, as well as the Minor Injuries Unit at St Albans Hospital, between December 1 and January 6.

Almost 5,000 patients used A&E during the festive fortnight alone.

Doctors are pleading for residents to only use A&E if they are in urgent need of medical assistance – with health chiefs warning patients may be sent away if their condition is not serious.

Dr Nicolas Small, Chair of Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “The Accident and Emergency departments at our hospitals only have the capacity to treat people who have serious, life-threatening or dangerous conditions.

“Ambulances should only be called in genuine emergencies. If you use emergency services incorrectly you are risking the lives of others and won’t get the best treatment for your illness.

“If you have a minor complaint you should not come to A&E - your care will not be a priority and you may be sent away.

“If you call 999 for an ambulance and your life is not at risk, you may be endangering the life of another person in desperate need of emergency care.”

It comes as 240 people arrived at Watford General’s A&E department yesterday, including several people who thought they may have flu and women asking for the morning after pill.

Dr Small added: “Please do not attend our hospitals with common winter illnesses, such as chest infections, coughs and colds, diarrhoea or vomiting.

“We have never seen our hospitals under such pressure before which is why it’s vital that everyone understands the urgency of the situation and what you can do to protect our essential hospital services this winter.”

Samantha Jones, Chief Executive of West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, echoed that message and praised her staff for their hard work.

She said: “Our hospitals have been extremely busy over Christmas and New Year and I would like to thank all our staff who have worked hard to ensure our patients receive the best possible care under challenging circumstances.

“Over the Christmas and New Year fortnight 4,910 patients used our A&E services with many seriously ill and requiring admission to our hospitals.

“Our hospitals continue to be very busy, especially our A&E services, so we would encourage people to use their GP, their pharmacy and NHS 111, and only to use A&E for serious and life threatening injuries and illnesses.”