Health chiefs are preparing to launch a public awareness campaign encouraging people to reduce A&E usage in a bid to protect the NHS from collapse this winter, according to reports.
In a letter to staff, NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said winter planning has begun earlier than usual as the “pressure on the NHS is likely to be substantial, particularly in urgent and emergency care”.
Information attached to the letter asks hospitals to “implement your winter communications strategy to support the public to minimise pressures on urgent and emergency services”.
According to the Daily Telegraph, a renewed “help us help you” campaign will launch later this year and is expected to urge the public to be sparing in its use of 999 and A&E services, using them only for emergencies
Last year, the NHS used TV adverts, social media posts and billboards to promote the use of the 111 online service for urgent issues which are not life-threatening instead of going to A&E.
It comes as the NHS faces a troubling backlog, with the number of people who have waited two years or more to receive treatment at around 6,700 in June after the Covid-19 pandemic caused waiting lists to mount.
Meanwhile, the NHS Confederation – a membership body for organisations which commission and provide national health services – sent a letter to ministers on Friday warning that surging costs mean people will have to choose between skipping meals to heat their homes or living in cold and damp conditions this winter.
Health leaders said they are concerned that widespread fuel poverty will increase the high number of annual deaths associated with cold homes – estimated at 10,000 – and add pressure to an already overwhelmed health service.
The letter from NHS England’s chief executive also said the health service is working to reduce pressure by other means.
One goal is to increase the number of NHS 111 call handlers to 4,800 and the number of NHS 999 call handlers to 2,500.
It also said the NHS aims to increase capacity by the equivalent of at least 7,000 beds.
Dr Katherine Henderson, of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, highlighted difficulties in ambulances offloading patients at hospital. “It is a national problem,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
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“It is happening because we can’t get patients out of hospital back into the community because there aren’t the community beds.
“This is a major crisis. The reasonable expectation of a healthcare system is that if you call an ambulance, an ambulance turns up quickly and you get the care you need... we have broken that fundamental promise with the public of being able to do that.”
