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Members discuss ‘Urgent Care’ at South East Event – July 2010
[ 7 Jun 2010 ]
Members discuss ‘Urgent Care’ at South East Event – July 2010
‘Now Have your Say’ members came together for a very successful event on Monday 5th July, held at the Broadway Methodist Church, Meir, to discuss NHS Services available during an emergency. More than 100 people attended the event, which included a presentation from Bob Colclough (Urgent Care Commissioning Lead) on proposals for the new UHNS Urgent Care Centre.
Topics discussed included why people choose to attend A&E in preference to other services, how can we get the public to attend alternative services rather than A&E and how can we communicate with the public to obtain information about urgent care.
Feedback from the event included:
Why do people choose to attend A&E in preference to other services?
- Some people do not know where the walk-in centres are
- There is limited information around alternative services in GP surgeries
- There aren’t many alternative services at night, which is why people go to A&E (out of hours issue)
- The out-of-hours service is across the other end of the city / in certain areas there are no alternative services
- Most people wait until condition worsens / gets too serious so have to go to A&E (preventative healthcare)
- Cost of getting to alternative services is too expensive
How can we get the public to attend alternative services?
- Need to change peoples’ mindsets as A&E is not always better
- Give leaflets & explanation of alternative services to people who visit their GP or at A&E
- Most people do not know about the alternatives – where can they access this information?
- Access needs to be better (i.e. cost of getting there)
- Word of mouth – if someone has a good experience, this needs to be communicated
- Information needs to be sent to the public on the impact of going to A&E
- There needs to be an improved understanding of when it is appropriate to attend A&E
- Public confidence needs to be instilled into other alternative services
- Information needs to be available in other languages so everyone is aware of the different services available
How can we communicate with the public to obtain information about urgent care services?
- Communicate with the public in public places i.e. bingo halls / football matches / shopping centres / libraries
- Consistent communication needs to be implemented.
- More face to face interaction within communities
Key recommendations will be produced relating to the feedback where improvements can be made to the service. Any recommendations taken forward will be communicated to members, key organisations and partners.
Colin Anderson, Engagement Manager NHS Stoke on Trent, said;
“This was the first of our five regional member events this year and we have received some really useful feedback around NHS services available during an emergency. The value of these events cannot be underestimated as we truly appreciate people’s views and ideas about how NHS Stoke on Trent can improve going forward.”
The event recruited 20 new Now Have your Say members, with 46% rating the event overall as excellent and 49% rating the event overall as good.
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