Serious injuries only at A&E
The N&N’s adopting a new strategy to emergency admissions. It wants to ensure only those who need urgent care are treated at A&E. This follows a pilot scheme trialled in King’s Lynn. Patients are assessed when they arrive; if their condition is not an emergency, such as having toothache or a cough, they’re re-directed elsewhere for treatment.
Since January, more than 70 people seen at the Emergency Department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn were found care with their GP or pharmacist instead. Among the symptoms were coughing, vomiting and toothache. Barbara Cummings, Director of Performance and Informatics at the QEH said: “There are some patients who attend the hospital because it is convenient rather than because it is where they need to come. I would support the NHS Norfolk view that in some cases these patients could be better served by their own GP.”
A similar scheme has been running at the N&N for two weeks. Patients are fully assessed and a clinical decision is made about how they should be cared for. If their needs are better met in Primary Care then they will be given the opportunity to access that. The Primary Care Trust wants to get the message across that if you have a minor injury or illness that needs treatment, call your GP. If you call when the surgery is closed, and your condition requires immediate treatment, you will be told how to contact the out-of-hours service. The Timber Hill Health Centre in The Mall in Norwich is also open from 7am-9pm, 365 days a year. The main purpose of the Emergency Department is to assess and treat patients with serious injuries or illnesses.
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