Thousands ending up in A&E because doctors surgery closed
TENS of thousands of people a year in Coventry and Rugby end up going to Accident and Emergency when their doctors’ surgery is closed.
That is the conclusion of fresh analysis of GP Patient Survey - an annual poll recording the views and experiences of more than a million people across England.
Some 22 per cent of respondents in Coventry and Rugby - more than one in five - said they had, at some point in the previous 12 months, wanted to see their GP but ended up contacting another NHS service because their practice was closed.
Of those, 34 per cent - more than one in three - said they had gone to Accident and Emergency.
If those figures are projected across the 356,970-strong adult population of Coventry and Rugby, it means as many as 26,627 people who wanted to see their GP when the practice was closed turned up at a local hospital.
It is important to note that many of the people who said they had gone to Accident and Emergency may have contacted another NHS service first - and been told that A and E was the most appropriate destination.
Others might have been sent straight to hospital by their GP even if the practice had been open, depending on their symptoms.
Nevertheless, the figures come with emergency departments under record strain and with doctors and politicians warning people to cut out unnecessary visits.
A report commissioned by the British Medical Association last year found 23 per cent of adult visits to A and E were unnecessary and that “low capacity within alternative care services”, including general practice, “contributes to the problem”.
The GP Patient Survey, released earlier this month and based on data gathered in January to April, had 6,353 responses from people in Coventry and Rugby to the question: “In the past 12 months have you contacted an NHS service when you wanted to see a GP but your GP practice was closed?”
Some 4,942 people said they had not, while 890 had done so for themselves, and 601 for someone else.
Of those who had, 62 per cent had spoken to an NHS service on the phone, 20 per cent had a callback from a healthcare professional, four per cent had a visit from a healthcare professional, 13 per cent went to a pharmacist, five per cent went to another GP, 21 per cent went to another NHS service - and 34 per cent went to A and E. The numbers add up to more than 100 per cent because many people will have taken more than one option. Across England, the data suggests as many as 3.3million people ended up at A&E when they wanted to see a GP because the practice was closed.