Millions of patients putting strain on NHS with minor ailments

Millions of patients are putting unnecessary strain on the NHS by seeking medical help for minor complaints such as colds, insect bites and dandruff, according to a report.

Overloaded GP surgeries and A&E units are having to divert scarce resources into dealing with flu, sore backs and travel sickness, the Local Government Association said.

The LGA, which represents more than 370 local councils in England and Wales, is urging people suffering from minor ailments to think before they seek NHS help and get used to treating themselves.

“We need a new culture of care where people stop and think before calling the doctor,” said Cllr Izzi Seccombe, the chairman of the LGA’s community wellbeing board.

“GPs and A&E departments are already overstretched. However, many appointments are unnecessary and for minor conditions that a person could treat or manage themselves.”

There are 57m GP consultations every year for minor complaints, including 5.2m for blocked noses, 40,000 for dandruff and 20,000 for travel sickness, according to the LGA report. These appointments, together with 3.7m A&E visits for similar concerns, cost the NHS £2bn a year.

The 3.7m visits, 19% of A&E attendances, include people with a sprain (38%), flu (17%), colic (13%) and insect bites (13%).

Council leaders are advising patients affected by such ailments to visit a pharmacy or seek treatment advice from the NHS Choices website instead.

They say family doctors can play a key role by helping the many millions of people with a long-term condition such as diabetes or heart disease to learn how to manage their illness, reducing the need to seek professional medical help.

“Better self-management could make a huge difference to a person’s physical and mental wellbeing. Instead, the lack of knowledge among the general population about how they can do this is placing a huge burden on surgeries and hospitals,” said Seccombe, the Conservative leader of Warwickshire county council.

The Royal College of GPs backed the plan, but said long waiting times to see a GP can prompt people to seek help at A&E.

Prof Maureen Baker, the chair of the RCGP, said: “Minor ailments, including coughs and colds, can be distressing for patients and parents of young children, so it’s important that they are fully aware of the range of NHS services that are available to them in their local area.

“When patients in some areas of the country are having to wait for nearly a month to see their GP due to rocketing demand and not enough GPs to keep pace, it makes absolute sense to use alternatives, such as patients visiting their local pharmacist, who will be ideally placed to give them advice and discuss the various treatments available.”

Millions of patients putting strain on NHS with minor ailments

Miracles, midsummer and minor ailments | Brief letters

Janis Sharp (Opinion, 17 September) writes “support through difficult times means so much to someone whose life is in limbo. The good that exists in our world and the power of the people in it can and does achieve miracles.” I have set up a petition calling on the Ministry of Justice to overturn Lauri Love’s extradition order. We can at least make our views known about this cruel decision – and try to achieve a miracle – rather than just thinking it’s somebody else’s problem. The petition is at: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-the-extradition-of-lauri-love
David Smith
Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire

• It is so disappointing that after Saturday’s marvellous Refugees Welcome march, there has been almost no publicity from the BBC or the press – not even from the Guardian. Thousands of mainly young people, with colourful banners and placards, enthusiastically chanted “Refugees are welcome here”.  Politicians and actors added their voices in Parliament Square. These young people are our future, yet their voices clearly haven’t reached Theresa May, who is even now preparing to speak discouragingly at the UN summit on refugees in New York.
Thelma Percy
Bognor Regis, West Sussex

• I too am a lover of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Reports of my death, Weekend, 17 September). When I am sad I play the DVD. Two weeks ago I went to my granddaughter’s wedding in a forest outside Paris, beside the river. The weather was very hot and it was magical. It reminded me of that beautiful play. I danced even though I’m 86 years old.
Shirley Betteridge
Southampton

• Perhaps some old folk remedies will re-emerge now that the NHS no longer offers treatment for a variety of “minor ailments” (G2, 19 September). I’ve been told that the best cure for a ganglia, for example, is to hit it hard with a Bible.
Alison Jeffers
Manchester

• Please do not interfere with Rufus (Letters, 16 September) It is the only crossword I have any hope of finishing. I can’t even get started in all the others.
Rev Cecil Heatley
London

• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com

Miracles, midsummer and minor ailments | Brief letters

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