For instance, 1 in 4 people going to A&E do not need to be there and, shockingly, people using emergency departments for non-urgent conditions are costing the NHS up to £136m a year.
This is something that many NHS organisations are looking to prevent and, even more so, as CCGs increase functionality. Wakefield CCG is doing just that by directing public attention to local GP services.
The campaign, which focuses on the 1 in 4 statistic, aims to promote using GP practices as a first port of call as, in many instances, this is where many people who unnecessarily go to A&E could be treated.
The eskimosoup health team has worked alongside, and for, Wakefield CCG to create a communications strategy to address this issue including using effective press, 48 sheet and bus advertising. With the GP theme in mind the campaign uses the clear and thought-provoking message that ‘1 in 4 people who go to A&E don’t need to be there’. An eye-catching visual representation of this is also projected through an image of three red chairs lined up in a waiting room alongside one blue one – the odd one out.
The campaign also drums home the message that ‘Your GP practice knows you best and can help you’ which talks directly to the audience and encourages them to think about their actions.
This point has also been reflected throughout other channels including posters, leaflets, social media and a radio campaign which has been running in the area for three weeks.
Take a listen to the radio campaign and let’s hope the message is remembered in the run up to Christmas – one of the busiest times of the year for A&E staff with a staggering 80,000 people per year treated for Christmas related issues!
