Healthcare Survey Reveals Too Many Brits Visiting GP for Minor Ailments
July 2012 - Health
The latest NHS survey has discovered that many Britons are wasting time and resources by visiting their GP for ailments such as blocked noses and even dandruff.
Approximately 40,000 GP visits per year are for dandruff, while 20,000 patients go to their local surgery for travel-sickness and 5.2 million for blocked noses.
A total of one in five GP appointments have been found to be unnecessary, with more than 51 million GP appointments in England avoidable if patients seek alternative yet suitable help
The study questioned why many Britons choose a GP surgery or A&E over their pharmacist, with the aim of encouraging more self-care.
Crawley GP and a member of the National Self Care Forum, Dr Paul Stillman, commented: “We need to take steps so that we can focus more resources on these potentially vulnerable groups of people. We are not saying that people should not go to see their GP or use their A&E, emergency and 999 services if they believe they are seriously ill... [but] if we can encourage more people to self-care for common complaints, we can re-focus resources on people who really need them.”
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