Record numbers at A&E - but hundreds shouldn’t have gone there.

Sep 2 2011 by Lisa Boyle, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

HUNDREDS of people with hangovers, grazed knees, sore throats, coughs and colds turned up at accident and emergency this summer.

Hours were wasted dealing with the 294 people who should never have imposed themselves on A&E staff.

June and July proved record breaking for emergency health workers.

Almost 20,000 ill or injured people showed up at the departments.

But many of the genuine emergency cases faced delays while others were referred to more appropriate NHS services.

Liz Moore is the director of emergency services.

She insists that staff coped admirably with the record number of cases.

She said: “It is really important that people know who turn to when they are ill, not only to make sure they get the most appropriate care, but also to ensure that we are using NHS resources properly.

“June and July have seen record levels of attendance at Ayrshire’s A&E departments and while I'm delighted with the way our staff have coped with demand, a significant number of the people did not actually need emergency care. Ideally they would have used one of our other services.”

In an effort bring down the number of inappropriate attendance health chiefs are promoting a ‘When you're ill, know who to turn to’ campaign.

The campaign, which includes posters, leaflets, banners and adverts, aims to help people make informed decisions about their health care and the services they need.

Those who attend A&E, are also made aware that they could be re-directed if their symptoms can be dealt with more appropriately by another service.

The campaign materials clearly outline the eight main options available to people needing health care assistance, alongside a list of symptoms that could be appropriately dealt with by each option.

They include self care, a pharmacist, a dentist, and optometrist, the family doctor and NHS out-of-hours service.

People should only turn to 999 of the hospital’s A&E department for serious illness or accidents such as suspected stroke, heart attack, head injuries, fracture or wounds requiring stitches.

Ms Moore added: “We need to encourage people to think carefully about the choices they are making when using healthcare services.

“Inappropriate use of services can lead to delays, patient frustration and inefficiencies and we hope to minimise theses issues with the campaign.”