The bizarre cases clogging up A&E in the UK are revealed in a new study. The cases include:
- A woman who couldn’t remove her false nails
- Another woman who had paint stuck in her hair
These are just some of the ‘inappropriate’ patients turning up in A&E, according to research.
A new campaign is urging people not to go to A&E unless their condition is a genuine emergency, after figures suggested as many as a quarter of people who go to A&E could care for themselves or use alternative treatment. Other bizarre examples include:
- One woman wanted someone to cut her toenails because she could not get a chiropody appointment.
- One mother took her child to A&E because they had stepped in dog poo and she wanted staff to clean it off
- Another woman called 999 because she had diarrhoea.
- A further woman rushed to the department saying her hand had turned blue – it turned out to be dye from her jeans.
- A man also dialled 999 because he was suffering from constipation
- While another man went to A&E because he had a hangover.
Across England, unnecessary A&E attendances are estimated to cost at least £80 million to £100 million a year. Every attendance at A&E in the UK costs a minimum of £59.
The Choose Well campaign features short films of these scenarios played by actors and are available on YouTube or through social media websites. Dr Mike Cheshire, medical director at NHS North West, which is co-ordinating the national campaign, said: ‘The tales told in the videos are very funny and they are extreme cases, but there are very serious issues behind them.’ Dr Cheshire said unnecessary attendances ‘put an enormous and unnecessary strain on the NHS, and not just in financial terms.’ He added: ‘Every minute that an A&E doctor or nurse spends treating very minor problems reduces the time they can spend attending to those who have suffered heart attacks, strokes and life-threatening injuries’.
Commenting on the campaign, Joe Mulligan, Head of First Aid Education for the British Red Cross told Mail Online: ‘When people know first aid, this not only saves lives and reduces suffering, but can also save the NHS money through reduced demand for services.
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