Health Report : IS IT AN EMERGENCY?
News that the proportion of parents taking children straight to A&E with common illnesses has increased by 42 per cent over the past decade, and that A&E visits overall rose by 6.4 per cent last year alone might suggest we hit the panic button quicker than we used to.
But behind the headlines the story is more complex. OK, there are occasional stories of daft visits, such as a woman visiting A&E with a broken fingernail, but most don’t attend for spurious reasons. After all, who really wants to hang around for hours waiting to see a doctor? So why do people go to A&E rather than using other medical services? Getting in to see a GP quickly has become notoriously more difficult in some areas and may be one reason for the increase. However, many experts feel a significant cause is the change in out-of-hours services. Before 2004, if a medical problem cropped up between 6.30pm and 8am weekdays, at a weekend or on a public holiday and couldn’t wait, we still called our GP. If necessary they’d do a home is month, GILL COX shines a light on the current casualty conundrum, reveals how vampire bats could help to save lives and puts soothing blister plasters to the test Health news visit. From 2004, GPs could opt out of providing such care – 90 per cent of them did.
Who you gonna call?
NHS advice is to dial 999 or go to A&E for serious injuries or illnesses, such as:
- Loss of consciousness
- Pain not relieved by simple painkillers
- Acute confused state
- Persistent, severe chest pain
- Breathing difficulties
- Heavy blood loss
- Severe burns
- Serious injury
If uncertain about how serious a problem is or where to go:
- Call NHS Direct for England or Wales on 0845 4647, NHS24 Scotland on 08454 242424 or check NHS Northern Ireland at nidirect.gov.uk.
- The English NHS Direct website – nhsdirect.nhs.uk – also offers an online symptom checker.
To read more of this article, please turn to page 78 of your September issue or click here to subscribe.
Post Your Comment
You must be logged in to submit a comment.
If you are not yet a Candis member and want to find out more about the benefits of joining Candis Magazine...
We're confident that our travel insurance will provide you with peace of mind, allowing you the freedom to sit back, relax and get the most out of your holiday. Whether you're off on a short break or venturing further afield, our policies will keep you covered. Save up to £22.58 with Candis Travel Insurance More
Comments:
There are currently no comments for this article, be the first by using the box below.