Concern as people in Harrogate stop seeking urgent treatment for non-coronavirus-related illnesses

Health experts in Harrogate are worried that seriously ill people are putting their lives at risk by not getting urgent medical help because of coronavirus fears.
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North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is sending out a message to say GP services, emergency departments and pharmacies are still there to help - after figures revealed a dramatic drop in patient numbers.

Harrogate Hospital has seen its A&E admissions almost halve during the pandemic - something Dr Charles Parker, clinical chair at the CCG, said is linked to public anxiety and confusion over what people should do when they are feeling unwell.

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He said: “We need to ensure people are still accessing help, particularly with serious illnesses, as these conditions have not gone away just because of coronavirus. NHS 111, hospitals and GPs are still providing the same care they have always done.

Harrogate Hospital has seen its A&E admissions almost halve during the pandemic.Harrogate Hospital has seen its A&E admissions almost halve during the pandemic.
Harrogate Hospital has seen its A&E admissions almost halve during the pandemic.

“It can be very dangerous to put off getting seen as you can put yourself at risk of late diagnosis of things such as cancer, heart attacks and stroke."

In particular, Dr Parker said health officials do not want to see a delay in people seeking medical advice if children are poorly.

He added: “We have noticed that children in particular seem to be presenting less and we are urging parents to make sure they are using the right service for their child if they are displaying worrying symptoms.”

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The plea for patients comes as GP surgeries in Harrogate have drastically transformed the way they work in a short space of time to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

In 2019, less than 1 per cent of appointments were carried out using video-link, while 80 per cent took place in person, according to figures from BBC's Shared Data Unit.

But those numbers have been turned on their head following new government guidance, with face-to-face contact now making up just 7 per cent of all appointments nationally.

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However, concerns have been raised that people who may not have access to smartphones or a computer will be excluded from seeing their GP during the crisis.

Age UK has urged practices to be "proactive" in contacting people on their registers known to have underlying health conditions.

Tom Gentry, senior health influencing manager at the charity, said: "Surgeries have a lot of information at their disposal. Using that, they need to make active care plans for people to enable them to feel supported.

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"It's about not waiting for people to deteriorate and it's about reaching out to them first."

North Yorkshire CCG said access to GPs may initially by telephone - as practices are still advising patients to only attend in person if they are specifically asked to.

Surgeries across North Yorkshire will be offering video and phone consultations for those who are not asked to attend in person.

Patients should still dial 999 in the event of a life threatening emergency.

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For further advice on how to best use the NHS visit www.nhs.uk

Patients can also continue order repeat prescriptions on the NHS App and through their GP surgery website.

By Jacob Webster, Local Democracy Reporter

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