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1,000 time-wasters use Peterborough A&E each month
ABOUT 1,000 people a month arrive at Peterborough District Hospital's A&E department with just a sprain, a cut or bruise, costing the city's health services about £60,000 a month.
ABOUT 1,000 people a month arrive at Peterborough District Hospital's A&E department with just a sprain, a cut or bruise, costing the city's health services about 60,000 a month.With the soaring demand on emergency care being a factor behind NHS Peterborough's 9.6 million overspend, hospital bosses have brought a senior nurse into A&E reception to tell those with minor ailments to seek their treatment elsewhere.
According to NHS Peterborough's books up to December 2009, A&E services were projected to cost 3.253 million by the end of March, an overspend of 104,000.
Primary Care Trust bosses hope that even if the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust initiative reduces the number of those without a serious injury attending A&E by half, then that would save between 25,000 and 30,000 a month.
Lead nurse for A&E Celia Kendrick said: "The highly-trained specialist nurses and doctors in the A&E department are there to provide treatment to those patients with serious injuries, trauma cases and those that need immediate care.
"But there has been a growing trend in recent years for people to arrive at A&E with minor illnesses that could be treated by a GP or next door at the City Care Centre.
"This initiative will hopefully ensure a more efficient way of working for both our patients and our staff, enabling a better patient experience overall."
The senior nurse in reception will be the first point of contact for patients coming into A&E, and she will make an assessment, with those requiring immediate treatment being seen by the emergency team as soon as possible.
They will suggest to patients whose condition can be treated elsewhere to go to a GP, pharmacist or the City Care Centre, which is open from 8am to 10pm, seven days a week, instead.
The new initiative also aims to help the public to understand how to use the NHS services that are available in the city more appropriately.
NHS Peterborough director of contracts and performance Sarah Shuttlewood said: "We appreciate that it can sometimes be confusing for patients to decide on the most appropriate service for their treatment. In Peterborough, there are a range of alternative services, and if someone visits one of these instead of A&E, it is more cost-effective for the NHS, and means those more serious cases can get the treatment they need when they require it."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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