Did you know you can get the fastest and most appropriate treatment by choosing the right NHS service for you?

Selecting the service that can best treat your symptoms also helps us by reducing pressure on areas like the Emergency Department. This means our staff can concentrate on helping those patients most in need. We see over 9000 patients in the department every month.

This Spring, if you are considering coming to QEHB Emergency Department, please think about whether this is the right place for you.  Only urgent and emergency health problems such as severe chest pain, severe bleeding, trouble breathing or a suspected broken bone should be seen in the Emergency Department.

• Care for yourself at home if you have a common health issue, like a cough, cold, sore throat or headache. Make sure you get plenty of rest and take your usual painkillers or medicines, if you need them (always read the label).
• Visit a walk-in centre, minor injuries unit or urgent care centre if you have an illness or injury, and it can’t wait until your GP surgery is open. You can find your nearest centre on the NHS Choices website - see the link at the end of the article.
• Ask your local pharmacist for advice about lots of common health issues such as diarrhoea, migraines and skin problems.
• Make an appointment with your GP if you are feeling unwell and it’s not an emergency. All GPs will offer an emergency out-of-hours service. Did you know that even if you are out of town, you can join any GP practice as a temporary patient? The NHS Choices website has a handy search facility to see which practices cover your local area.

Only in urgent situations - such as loss of consciousness, severe chest pain, severe bleeding, trouble breathing or a suspected broken bone - should you visit an Emergency Department.

David Hornsby, Matron for QEHB Emergency Department, said: “The hospital is a major trauma centre and on average we see over 9000 patients a month and over 3000 of these arrive by emergency ambulance. To help my colleagues and me care for these very poorly patients, please consider whether your symptoms could be better treated by another NHS service.”

Below you can find some examples of real patients who visited the Emergency Department at QEHB recently, who could have received more appropriate treatment elsewhere.