A&E departments are the one place people can turn up and know someone will help them with their problem. Although it seems like the front door they are actually in the middle.
Your Pharmacist would be a great port of call for simple advice, but there aren't enough pharmacists. The chemist nearest to us is now closing at lunchtime because there aren't enough staff to cover the shop and each get a break. Closing early several days a week because there aren't enough pharmacists available.
Your GP is the right place for initial health concerns but if you can't get through in the morning, or can't get an appointment (some places won't let you book ahead) then you look for your next alternative.
If there isn't a minor injuries unit, or a walk in centre, it's going to be A&E.
If you're ill enough to be admitted there needs to be a bed available to put you in. If the hospital can't discharge people in a timely fashion because they need Social Care interventions which aren't available, whether because of budget cuts or staffing issues, that patient stays in the hospital. Bed Blocking.
Yet people still turn up at A&E and the hospitals are expected to treat them. The whole situation is falling apart the seams and tax cuts are not the answer.