Making the right choice is good for your health

People across the borough are being encouraged to ‘choose well’ to help reduce the number who go to A&E or dial 999 with common complaints such as coughs, colds or minor injuries.

NHS staff in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale are backing the Choose Well campaign – which reinforces the message that A&E and 999 services are for serious and life-threatening conditions such as heart-attacks, strokes, serious accidents and breathing conditions.

Dr Lynn Hampson, Lead Clinician for Urgent Care, said: “Choose Well helps local people to decide which NHS service they need if they become ill or injured; so that they know where to go to in the first instance, to get fast, expert advice when they need it, and how to help themselves if they have a common illness or minor injury.”

Every year, Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments see tens of thousands of patients and as many as one in four people who attend could have received free expert care and advice from their pharmacist, NHS Direct or their GP, or could even take care of themselves at home with the right support.

Dr Hampson added: “There is a lot that people can do to self-care for common complaints, without needing to go to a GP or the Urgent Care Centre.

“The majority of people will begin to feel better within three to four days. Your local high-street pharmacist can give you qualified and confidential advice on prescription or over the counter medicines and they know when to refer patients to a GP or other local NHS services such as the Urgent Care Centre. So it is worth talking to them or calling NHS Direct for advice in the first instance.”

“We need people to ask themselves, are they seriously ill or do they simply have an uncomfortable but common complaint.”

A Choose Well leaflet explaining how and when to access local services have been sent out to residents.

For a copy of the Choose Well guide visit www.hmr.nhs.uk/choosewell