NHS body in Sunderland planning to tackle increases in A&E attendances
Understanding why some patients go to A&E when there are other NHS services available is the focus of a special project this week led by the city's new GP-led health commissioning group, NHS Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). It is hoped the work will help understand why patients choose to attend A&E over other services and hopefully identify how best to raise awareness of the other services that are available.
Each year the A&E department in Sunderland sees approximately 92,000 patients, an average of more than 250 patients each day. It is believed a large proportion of these patients could have been treated by other services or self-treated with basic first aid and advice.
Sunderland CCG Chair, Ian Pattison, said: "We are committed to involving patients when planning new health services and developing existing services. We hope this work will provide us with an insight into why patients attend A&E, in some cases inappropriately, and help us identify services that could be provided or better advertised to reduce the demand on A&E.
"A&E is an emergency service that should only be used when people are badly injured or show the symptoms of serious illness."
"In order to save patients time and inconvenience, and allow accident and emergency staff to concentrate their efforts on those most in need, we need to find out why people are attending A&E when there are a range of other health services that may be more appropriate (including self- care, NHS 111, pharmacists, dentists, GPs, minor injury and illness units/walk-in centres)."
Sunderland CCG is urging the public to consider if the following could be used before attending A&E:
1. A well-stocked medicine cabinet will help you deal with many common illnesses such as coughs, colds and stomach upsets.
2. Call 111 when you need medical help fast but it's not a 999 emergency. NHS 111 is a fast and easy way to get the right help, and is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Calls are free from landlines and mobile phones.
3. Your local pharmacist is able to give friendly expert advice regarding over the counter medication that can help with a wide range of common conditions without an appointment.
4. GPs offer medical advice, examinations and prescriptions for more persistent health problems. Your GP has your records and knows your medical history, medicines and allergies.
5. Walk-in centres are GP/Nurse led centres at which you do not need an appointment to be seen. You will be seen in priority order by a doctor or experienced nurse. Walk-in centres are open every day of the year.
Sunderland CCG will use the findings from this work to help plan its services over winter -- a time when the demand on all services increases.
