Health bosses across Pennine Lancashire have joined today to urge Burnley residents to choose the most appropriate service for their needs.
They are highlighting that the Urgent Treatment Centre at Burnley General Teaching Hospital is only for conditions suitable for an urgent assessment or urgent appointment, but are not life-threatening such as:
- Minor head injuries
- Minor injuries
- Sprains
- Cuts and scrapes
- Bites
- Eye problems
- Rising temperature
For critical or life-threatening situations requiring urgent medical attention, such as loss of consciousness, heavy blood loss, broken bones, persistent chest pain, difficulty breathing, overdoses, ingestion or poisoning, the A&E service based at Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital should be used.
Dr Jawad Husain, Executive Medical Director at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Going to a health care setting that is not appropriate for your condition can result in long waits and a poor experience of our services. And if that setting is not designed to deal with the most serious of cases, it can even be life-threatening.”
“All health services be it hospital, GPs or pharmacies are all working extremely hard to give the best care. Please help us to help you by choosing the right service.”
Dr Mark Dziobon, GP and Medical Director for Blackburn with Darwen and East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Groups added: “We are extremely lucky to have a wide range of services across Burnley and East Lancashire that offer different levels of care, but we do realise that this can be difficult to navigate. If you are unsure which service is the most appropriate for you, please check your symptoms online at https://111.nhs.uk/ or call NHS 111. They can direct you to the most appropriate service and even make you an appointment with the correct healthcare professional if appropriate.
“For immediate, life-threatening situations, please call 999.”