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   Keep A and E off the wish list this Christmas
Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust is urging local people to keep safe and stay out of its Accident & Emergency (A&E) department this Christmas. Over the festive period, staff in A&E will be continuing their good work, as part of the Salford-wide Right Treatment Right Place campaign, to deflect patients who come into A&E with illnesses that could be better treated at other health services, eg, GP, pharmacist, dentist or NHS Direct. This is to ensure A&E is kept free for those people who really need it. It is estimated that around 350 patients a month come to A&E with illnesses that are best treated by another part of the health service. The most common reasons for deflecting patients are non-traumatic limb pain and minor illness; other complaints include bites and stings, dental problems and back pain. It is vital that patients remember A&E is for serious or life-threatening situations, including: Severe chest pain Suspected heart attack or stroke Suspected meningitis Serious injuries such as fractures or major burns Breathing difficulties Unconsciousness Heavy or uncontrolled bleeding Suspected drug overdose Sudden and severe headaches Severe head injuries. Although A&E is no busier over Christmas, staff can expect to see a higher number of incidents relating to the effects of alcohol and the cold/bad weather, for example, falls or someone falling asleep outside and suffering hypothermia. On a normal weekend, 70% of attendances in A&E overnight are alcohol-related; this is likely to be higher on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Salford Royal’s A&E department moved into the new Hope Building in September. The new A&E facilities are built to manage the current demand of patients (85,000), whereas the previous facilities were only designed to treat 40-50,000 patients a year. Increased capacity in the resuscitation, majors and minors areas of the department with more and bigger cubicles means patients have more privacy. This also means the corridor is less likely to be used as a holding area for patients. New CT and X-ray machines are both digital and located in the centre of the department, making it more convenient for patients. Salford Royal’s Clinical Director for Emergency Medicine Dr Martin Smith said: “Whilst we’re absolutely delighted with the facilities in the new A&E department in Hope Building, we hope very few people actually have to experience them. “It’s really important, especially at Christmas, that local people help us to keep A&E free for those people who really need it. A&E doctors and nurses will continue to prioritise those patients who urgently need our help and work with those patients who come to the department with minor injuries or illnesses to help them find the most appropriate service.” Source: Salford NHS. Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
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