‘One Show’ highlights A&E fears

A SENIOR Oldham consultant is to appear on the BBC’s “One Show” tonight to speak about pressures facing the health service.

Dr Jimmy Stuart, clinical director at the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, will appear in a feature on the pressures facing A&E departments.

He will stress how unnecessary visits to A&E departments waste resources and force genuine patients to wait for long periods to be treated.

Figures suggest up to 50 people a day at A&E departments at North Manchester General and the Royal Oldham hospitals could be treated more appropriately by a pharmacist or other community health service.

A&E teams routinely face ‘run-of-the-mill” condition such as coughs and colds, backache, toothache, foot problems and upset stomachs.

Nationally, A&E attendance from June 2011 to May 2012 was over 17.6 million. Around 10 per cent of patients admit they don’t need to use the service.

Dr Stuart said: “We often find ourselves dealing with patients who turn up to A&E with minor illness and complaints who could have been treated elsewhere.

“By choosing and using the right services, patients can expect to be seen or treated more quickly, whilst keeping emergency services free for those patients with serious and life threatening illnesses,” says Dr Stuart.