EMBARGO: 00.01 Monday 7 November 2011
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Steve Murphy
Tel: 07976 728 721
Press Release
2 November 2011
NHS campaigns on the “funny side” of incorrect usage
of A&E
Watch the videos now at http://bit.ly/rGJxLw
Campaign highlights incorrect us of NHS emergency services which could
cost up to £100 million across England.
A series of viral videos are headlining an NHS campaign launched today (Mon 7 Nov
2011) highlighting some of the most incorrect reasons for patients attending A&E.
Actors from stage and screen gave up their time free of charge to appear alongside
NHS staff as characters including women waiting for treatment for hair-dye disasters
and botched false nails, a pushy mum desperate for her son to be seen by senior
doctors for his diarrhoea, and even a man hoping A&E staff will turn their hands to
helping out his poorly dog!
The more serious message is that cases such as these put added pressure on
already busy A&E and 999 teams. In the North West alone, more than 400,000
people who could have been treated and advised by their local pharmacist or GP, or
could have looked after themselves at home, went to A&E departments in the last 12
months.
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Focussing on patients in the waiting rooms, the viewer can’t tell until the end of the
films whether they’re in a vet’s surgery, X-factor audition, beauty salon – or a
hospital. At the end of each, viewers are reminded that they should go to their local
pharmacy for advice on treatment of very minor illnesses and injuries.
The videos, available on Youtube, are being distributed through social media, and
also distributed for display at leading supermarket and pharmacy chains across the
UK as part of the NHS’s annual “Choose Well” campaign. They have been launched
to coincide with national Ask Your Pharmacist Week.
Every attendance at A&E in the UK costs a minimum of £59, and as many as one in
four people who attend A&E could have been treated by their pharmacist or GP, or
did not need any form of medical intervention. In the North West, this cost £20.9
million in the last year. Replicated across England, NHS North West economists say
this equates to a cost of between £80 million and £100 million. Studies by other
organisations have estimated even higher costs.
North West actors featured in the videos include Phil Broadbent, who has appeared
in Shameless as well as ITV’s acclaimed drama Appropriate Adult, along with
Salford GP and actor Dr Jenny Hayes. They were filmed on location at Manchester
Royal Infirmary.
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Notes to Editors:

The NHS Choose Well campaign launches across England on Monday 7th
November 2011, and is being co-ordinated by NHS North West

Film clips, production stills and other supporting photography available on
application

Interviews with cast members of the films (including a NHS GP and other
clinicians) also available

Photography/filming/broadcasting from an A&E unit in the North West
England may be possible upon application (pre launch options for Sunday 6th
November (including Sunday for Monday and overnights also available)

The top 10 examples of incorrect usage of A&E and 999 teams from the North
West are:
o A patient attending A&E complaining that her false nails were hurting
her and asked that staff remove them.
o A patient attending A&E requesting that someone cut her toe nails as
she could not get a chiropody appointment.
o A man who dialled 999 as he was suffering from constipation - he was
otherwise fit and well.
o A child was brought into the department by her mother after she had
trodden in dog faeces and the mother could not bear to wipe it off. She
requested that the Accident & Emergency staff cleaned the shoe.
o A man who called 999 for an ambulance after he was bitten on the
finger by Guinea pig.
o A woman who called 999 as she didn’t have transport to hospital.
o Female called 999 because she had diarrhoea.
o A woman who went to A&E because she had paint in her hair which
she couldn’t remove.
o A woman who went to A&E because her hand had turned blue – it
turned out dye had transferred from her jeans.
o A man who attended A&E because he had a hangover.
Attached photos:
Nail bar: (from left) Jennie Scully, Eve Ryan and Emma Ryan play women waiting for
treatment for hair-dye disasters and botched false nails. Are they in A&E, or waiting
in line at the beauty parlour?
X factor: Hayley Showman, playing Mum, is desperate for her son, played by Sam
Holliday, to be seen by the best. But is he waiting for an audience with a triage
nurse, or with Gary Barlow?
City Hospital Vets: Charlie Holliday’s character is simply looking after her gran’s cat
while she’s being seen by clinicians. But Jordan Jessup plays a man hoping doctors
will turn their hands to helping out his poorly dog!
Jenny Hayes: Jenny is both a GP, practicing in Salford, and an actor. She played a
stressed-out triage nurse, and is available for broadcast and written media interview.
Quotes for use:
Dr Mike Cheshire, Medical Director at NHS North West:
“The tales told in the videos are very funny, and they are extreme cases, but there
are very serious issues behind them.
“Every single attendance at A&E costs a minimum of £59, and as many as one in
four people who attend A&E could have been treated by their pharmacist or GP, or
did not need any form of medical intervention.
“That puts an enormous and unnecessary strain on the NHS, and not just in financial
terms. Every minute than 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.”
Stephen Fishwick, Head of External Relations at the National Pharmacy Association:
“The potential of community pharmacists to be gatekeepers for unscheduled care is
considerable, but there is a lot of public education still to be done before patients
fully understand the role that community pharmacists play on the front line of health
services.
“These videos do a great job of making people think about the alternatives to A&E –
which in many instances will be assurance, advice and medication from their
neighbourhood pharmacy”
Darrin Baines, economist at NHS North West:
“If this picture is replicated across England, and we believe the cost to the NHS in
England would equate to somewhere in the region of £80million and £100 million of
NHS money spent unnecessarily every year.”
Dr Jenny Hayes, Salford GP and actor (plays a triage nurse in the videos):
“Everyone in primary care is working to try to deflect people away from A&E units,
not just because of the cost, but because A&E is not at all the right place for people
with very minor illness and injuries to be treated. We all chuckle at cases like those
featured in the videos, but they are all based on real-world examples. People really
do show up at A&E with things like broken nails!
“There are a lot of serious misconceptions among patients about where they should
go for care in different situations, with many thinking they will get quicker, more
expert attention by going to A&E. Clinicians know that this is not the case at all, and I
hope these videos will encourage the general public to think twice before going to
A&E units.
“Patients require different communications approaches, and so do different acting
roles – in each case, you have to find your own way of dealing with them, and I think
that’s what I find most enjoyable about both my jobs.”
Eve and Emma Ryan, actors, twins (play women seeking treatment for botched false
nails):
“Lots of people, like our characters, think A&E is a shortcut to treatment and don’t
understand that their selfishness is diverting doctors away from really serious cases.
We hope the videos make those people think twice.”
Jennie Scully, actor (plays woman seeking treatment for a mild allergic reaction to
hair dye):
“When they described the character to me I actually said ‘where else would you go
apart from A & E if your head was tingling from hair dye?!
“I probably would have done what my character did, because before this project I
didn’t realise how much help people like community pharmacists can give. It was
certainly a lesson learned for me, and I hope lots of other people will realise the error
of their ways too when they see the videos.”
Hayley Showman, actor (plays pushy mum wanting emergency treatment for son’s
stomach upset):
“Like anyone, my character obviously has the best interests of her son at heart. I’ve
got three sons of my own and it’s awful when any of them are ill, but parents need to
understand that the best treatment can only be found in the appropriate setting. A&E
is the place for emergency treatment – not for a bit of diarrhoea!”
Jordan Jessup, actor (plays man who brings his dog to A&E after the pet swallowed
a golf ball):
“Obviously, it’s quite rare that people come to A&E looking for treatment for their
pets, but the NHS staff we worked with told me these things really do happen. After
they’ve seen the videos, I hope anyone thinking of doing that will see the error of
their ways and get in touch with the vets instead!”