NHS Direct and NHS Suffolk are encouraging local people to consider using NHS Direct over the busy winter period so that other local health providers can remain available for those residents who most need them.
NHS Direct is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for people looking for health information and advice on the telephone (0845 46 47) and on the web (www.nhs.uk/nhsdirect). NHS Direct has looked at historical data to identify those residents who are typically low users of the service, including men and women from different postcode areas; young people aged 14 to 21; older people (of retirement age) or those people who have recently arrived in England from abroad and may have less knowledge of the healthcare services available.
Analysis has found that low users of the service tend to have limited knowledge about the type or severity of their illness and are more likely to worry needlessly or leave things until too late, believing the symptoms will get better given time. They are often unaware or confused by the full range of healthcare options available and tend to be the most inappropriate users of other care services as they are among the least likely to understand the right place to turn.
Nigel Nice, NHS Direct’s Regional Director for the East of England, said:
“We’re really pleased to be working with NHS Suffolk to increase public awareness of NHS Direct. Sixty per cent of our callers are given advice that allows them to care for themselves at home, only seeking further advice if symptoms persist. Our analysis shows that this type of self-care advice really improves the access to other health services in the local area, which is particularly important in the busy winter months when health services are heavily used.”
Lynne Wigens, NHS Suffolk’s director of patient safety and clinical quality said:
“It is really important people choose the best care when they need it and NHS Direct is a great source of medical advice and information from qualified staff. Making use of the NHS Direct service could save you time and unnecessary stress and mean that you could treat yourself at home instead of visiting your GP or the A&E department.”
NHS Suffolk will be distributing NHS Direct materials – including leaflets, posters and window stickers to Ipswich and West Suffolk hospitals, GP practices, pharmacies, libraries and to shoppers in Ipswich at the health road show taking place from the end of November.
– In the last 12 months more than 34,600 calls were made to NHS Direct’s 0845 46 47 telephone service by residents in Suffolk.
– Last month, patients in Suffolk contacted NHS Direct most about abdominal pain, dental tooth/jaw pain, rashes or with a medicines enquiry.
– In 2009/10, the monetary value NHS Direct added in NHS Suffolk was the equivalent of £1.9m (£3.25 per resident) by reducing demand elsewhere in the NHS.
– In 2009/10, 15,000 inappropriate A&E/999 referrals, and 18,100 GP consultations were avoided in Suffolk through patients’ use of NHS Direct’s services.
