Headaches and coughs causing pain for A&E

MILLIONS of patients are turning to A&Es for minor conditions, including headaches.

- BY ELLA PICKOVER AND IAN JONES

In five years, medics in the casualty units dealt with almost 1.9 million cases of people seeking help for headaches.

Almost 1.4m A&E visits in England in 2020-21 to 2024-25 were due to coughs, and 1.2m for sore throats.

One million were for earache, Press Association analysis showed.

Some 69,000 patients sought help in A&E for blocked noses, 4,200 for hiccups and 290,000 for constipation.

The 2020-21 year covers the first 12 months of the pandemic, when many patients steered clear of hospitals.

Unnecessary

Figures also show how A&E attendances for emergencies such as heart attacks stayed relatively consistent during and since Covid.

For example, 10,293 attendances due to cardiac arrest were logged in 2020-21, with 10,744 in 2024-25.