TV ads ram home medical message about misuse of A&E service
SURVEYS of patients arriving at Northamptonshire emergency departments revealed only one in three rang their GP first, as a hard-hitting NHS TV ad is released showing the tragic consequences of A&E misuse.
he post-watershed TV ad campaign, available to watch by clicking play in the box at the top of this page, and aired on TV last night, shows people with minor injuries and illnesses regretting calling 999 and finishes with a depiction of a young girl dying on a hospital trolley.
It comes as a survey of more than 500 people over the course of a week at Northampton and Kettering General Hospitals that shows more than 60 per cent failed to consult their GP or an out-of-hours doctor before deciding how serious their complaint was.
NHS bosses said 100 of the total number interviewed could have gone to their GP and many more could have used the minor injury service for “walking wounded”.
Heidi King, head of social marketing at NHS Northamptonshire, said: “We wanted to understand what kind of people are turning up to A&E and what they are doing there, and hopefully this will help us target people better with our Choose Well messages.”
Detailed analysis is yet to be carried out but the survey findings are expected to suggest A&E is being used more by people in their 20s and 30s with sports injuries. It is also expected that people living near to the hospital are more likely to go to A&E for convenience.
Other findings from the survey show more than half of the patients had previously attended A&E within the last six months, suggesting there are fewer people in the county becoming ill and injured people than had been assumed by high figures.
The survey also showed every respondent could name at least one alternative to A&E, but just over half had not tried to contact them.
NHS bosses said yesterday they were now trying to solve those problems with the shock tactics of the new advertisement.
Mrs King added: “The purpose of the advertisement is to challenge people to think about their behaviour and open up the debate with local people on the use of A&E.
“The new survey confirms to us that we still have more work to do on educating people on the use of alternative services.”
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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lady muck
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 11:27 PMSo why were these attendees not simply re-directed to the GP or MIAMI ? It wouldn't take more than a few seconds by the triage nurse. It just seems that there is a serious problem with the way that A & E operates and they are seeking to blame the patients.
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