Why do our patients go to A&E?

We have started to look at the reasons why our patients visit our local Accident and Emergency departments. In the course of an average week about 90 of our patients will visit A&E and half of these visits will occur between 8 am and 6.30 pm when the surgery is open. When we look at the letters we get back following patients attendances it looks to us as if a lot of patients could have come and been treated at the surgery instead. It costs our commissioning budget at least £80 per each A&E attendance whereas if the patients had come to the surgery instead if would not have cost anything at all.

We are about to start contacting patients and asking them why they went to A&E? What could the surgery have offered so that they could have seen us rather than A&E? Do our patients know about other NHS Choices instead of A&E? We are just at the start of this process and are going to use the data we collect to help decide if we need to change our opening times. For example we currently have extended surgeries that are just for patients who pre book appointments. Would altering them to book on the day appointments mean that patients could come and see us rather that go to A&E?

So, watch this space .... But in the meantime if you were thinking of going to A&E then remember we can see you if you need to be seen.

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