Whiston Hospital has issued an "urgent plea" for people to stay away from A&E if possible, as high patient numbers see waiting times soar to 20 hours.
Bosses have asked members of the public to "only use A&E if their condition is a life-threatening emergency", and to use alternative services such as walk-in and urgent treatment centres if possible.
Unprecedented levels of attendance at A&E, on top of high numbers of patients already receiving care in the hospital, have led to waits of up to 20 hours in the department for non-emergency patients
