The warning comes from York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as demand is rising above the levels seen over the same period last year.

NHS England figures show 19,876 patients visited A&E at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in July.

That was a rise of 3 per cent on the 19,218 visits recorded during June - and 41 per cent more than the 14,098 patients seen in July 2020.

The figures show attendances were below the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in July 2019, there were 20,100 visits to A&E at York Teaching Hospital.

The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – while 46 per cent were via minor injury units.

Meanwhile, around 2 per cent were via consultant-led departments with single specialties, such as eye conditions or dental problems.

A spokesperson for York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “Our emergency department is extremely busy at the moment.  If you are not seriously ill, the emergency department may not be the best place for you to get the treatment you need and you may wait for a long time.

“If you need medical help, contact the NHS 111 service.  They will be able to make sure you get the right treatment in the right place.  You can call NHS 111 or visit online 111.nhs.uk.”

“If you do have a life-threatening illness or injury then you should continue to dial 999.”

Across England, A&E departments received 2.2 million visits last month.

That was in line with June, and 36 per cent more than the 1.6 million seen during July 2020.

There were 340 booked appointments in July at York Teaching Hospital. That's up from 325 in June.

76 per cent of arrivals were seen within four hours. It falls against an NHS target of 95 per cent.

844 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit.

Of those, 43 were delayed by more than 12 hours.