AN APPEAL HAS been issued by NHS Grampian seeking to ensure that members of the public use hospital emergency departments ‘responsibly’ over the Festive holidays.
The call comes after it was revealed that the number of people turning up with enguine emergencies has been estimated to be as high as 30,000 in previous years.
Staff reported that up to 15% of patients who turned up at the emergency department would be better treated elsewhere by the NHS – and were potentially putting people with genuine medical emergencies at risk.
A high-profile “Know Who to Turn Up To” campaign has been launched this week by NHS Grampian aimed at helping people make the choice that is best suited to treating their illness or injury. In addition, a TV advertisement started appeared on Monday and will continue until the end of the month.
Around 140,000 households are also being sent an information leaflet detailing the local healthcare options available and how to access them.
A spokeswoman for NHS Grampian said: “Emergency department staff said that in previous years people had turned up at the unit with such ‘ailments’ as being unable to remove their false nails and expressing concern after putting the wrong type of seasoning on their food.
“People can find out more on key NHS services and the medical assistance they provide at http://www.know-who-to-turn-to.com or by calling the free healthline on 0500 20 20 30.”