A new telephone help and advice line is being launched in Rotherham on 1st October to direct patients to appropriate services to avoid them turning up at Accident and Emergency or the Walk in Centre if their condition is not life threatening or urgent.
Patients who need immediate health advice or reassurance, rather than waiting for an appointment with their GP, can dial 0333 321 8282 and speak directly to a nurse or GP who will be able to advise the appropriate treatment, refer to other services or make an appointment direct with the Walk In Centre or out of hours GP service.
The new Rotherham telephone service will be provided by Care UK and aims to reduce the number of patients who turn up both at Accident and Emergency and the Walk In Centre during the winter months with minor conditions such as coughs and colds.
It will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including Christmas Day from 1st October until 31st March 2012.
Dr David Plews, Medical Director at NHS Rotherham said: “During the winter months there is a great deal of pressure put on NHS services as more and more people turn up at Accident and Emergency and the Walk In Centre with minor illnesses and injuries that would be better treated with a visit to the pharmacy or their GP. We hope that this new service will be able to give reassurance to those patients who are suffering symptoms that don’t need to be seen urgently which will mean that patients with life threatening and urgent conditions will be seen quicker.
“Where it is thought patients do need to be seen by a doctor or nurse they will be given an appointment at the Rotherham Walk In Centre or with the GP out of hours service, rather than just turning up and facing a lengthy wait.”
On two occasions last winter the Walk in Centre had to close temporarily due to the large volume of patients who turned up and Accident and Emergency faced unprecedented demand and exceeded the four-hour wait target on a number of occasions.
Dr Plews added: “One in four people who attend Accident and Emergency could have been treated elsewhere in the community or could have self-treated. This single point of access telephone number is just one of a number of measures that NHS Rotherham and the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust are implementing to ensure that those patients who need services are able to be seen quickly and by the right healthcare professional where appropriate.”
Over the coming weeks the NHS in Rotherham will be launching the annual Choose Well campaign to promote alternative and appropriate NHS services to patients who are unwell.
Last year over 62,000 people attended Accident and Emergency at Rotherham Hospital which costs the local NHS up to £21,000 a day. A visit to Accident and Emergency without further treatment can be as much as £124.
The new service is for all Rotherham patients and can be accessed by telephoning 0333 321 8282.
Ref: NHSR11-P55
Last reviewed: 12/10/2011
