THE symptoms are back – violent sneezes, sore-eyes, and that irritating back-of-the-throat itch. I duly booked to see the nurse for my annual hayfever combating fix.

As the prescription was printing and with time to spare, we exchanged a few pleasantries before I decided to make the most of my visit and mention an unexplained, week-old tingling pain down my right side.

We established there was no rash, ruling out shingles and the like, so that was the end of that. If it didn’t heal within a week, pop back, she said. My appointment was probably the perfect opportunity to also seek medical advice on my other “war wound”, suffered when my sons were playing tug of war with the bathroom door and dragged it over my little toe just as I stepped in with the wise words, “Stop before anyone gets hurt”.

Months on, the skin has grown back but what lies beneath is still tender under pressure. It’s possibly broken, my doctor friend told me, as I stumbled through a Zumba class. Admittedly she’s a psychiatric doctor, but I trust her judgment.

But I didn’t raise it with the nurse. My allotted ten minutes were up and I thought I might sound like a hypochondriac if I reeled off a list of ailments. Some other people would not exercise such restraint, it would seem.

According to York Health Group, still far too many think nothing of going to hospital, never mind their GP, when really they don’t need to.

The group of doctors has launched a campaign, See Your GP, to encourage people to think more carefully about whether they really need hospital treatment when a visit to the GP, nurse, or even the pharmacist would suffice and save precious NHS resources for those in genuine need.

This was triggered after a study which saw a GP stationed in York Hospital over five weeks, seeing more than 600 patients, 70 per cent of whom required absolutely no hospital treatment.

I can understand the frustration for people in pain or discomfort, who try to book a doctor’s appointment, only to be told they have to wait a week or more. By then a bearable pain can develop, and a quick trip to the hospital might seem preferable to waiting.

Personally, I’ve never been in a rush to go to hospital. In my entire life I’ve been three times for treatment – once to be born, and twice to give birth. Since then I’ve been twice more. The first time we were referred by the out-of-hours GP to A&E when my eldest was worryingly dehydrated with gastroenteritis.

More recently my youngest dramatically went downhill without warning with a chest infection. On that occasion his breathing suddenly became very laboured, and I dashed in to my GP surgery, which was close by. We were seen immediately, and after a few checks and a phone call, an ambulance appeared to take us to York Hospital.

That sense of urgency drove home how fragile children are, but was also incredibly reassuring to me as a parent to see how quickly my son was treated, how carefully he was monitored and how sincere the staff were in encouraging me to return if I had any concerns over the following 24 hours.

During our stay there were other children being treated including a baby and a teenage girl who seemed very familiar with her surroundings. For me it was hopefully a rare visit. For others it’s part of life.

The whole experience – though minor compared with many people’s ordeals – highlighted just how vital it is that medical experts are on hand to deal with patients in need as and when they need them.

Timewasters know who they are and should really take note of the See Your GP campaign message.

One day it could be you in genuine need and you wouldn’t want to be in the A&E queue behind someone with stomach ache caused by too much pasta for tea.