A&E struggles to cope with demand
Up to 70% of A&E patients could be treated elsewhere within the NHS, according to a report to councillors this week. At the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital they’re working on a strategy to get this message across, as they face unprecedented demand. Staff with specialist training in emergency medicine are routinely called on to treat hangovers, earwax or toothache.
At the N&N, the level of demand is “well above” what was anticipated by the hospital and NHS Norfolk. Despite opening 54 additional beds, and a GP-led walk-in service on Timber Hill, the N&N has not been able to absorb the rise in demand, frequently putting the hospital on red or black alert. The icy conditions and an outbreak of the winter vomiting virus, closing one ward to new admissions since early January, have added to the already difficult situation.
If you turn up at A&E, you could soon be greeted by a triage nurse, who may send you elsewhere for treatment. It’s a pilot being trialed in King’s Lynn, but if successful could be adopted by other hospitals. Mr Christopher Lloyd, Clinical Lead for Emergency Medicine there said: “There are some patients who attend the hospital because it is convenient rather than because it is where they need to come.”
To reduce pressure on emergency services, representatives from the hospital and the Primary Care Trust are meeting with county councillors this week to discuss a strategy to manage urgent and emergency care. £150 thousand pounds is due to be spent on a region-wide marketing campaign by the Strategic Health Authority, including advertising on buses, billboards and telephone boxes, encouraging people to “Choose well“, and to think before heading straight for A&E. They want to patients to get the “right service at the right time in the right place,” stressing emergency departments are there to assess and treat patients with serious injuries or illnesses.
Meanwhile the N&N remains shut to visitors until later this week, following an outbreak of the norovirus.
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