Big drop in East Lancashire A&E visits amidst warnings that people are 'risking their lives'

People are risking their lives by avoiding A&E departments during the coronavirus crisis, charities have warned.
There has been a severe drop in the number of people attending A&E.There has been a severe drop in the number of people attending A&E.
There has been a severe drop in the number of people attending A&E.

The pandemic has seen a dramatic fall in the number of patients going to emergency departments, official figures show, prompting growing concern among health chiefs.

The Express can also reveal that attendance at East Lancashire Hospital Trust’s accident and emergency department at the Royal Blackburn Hospital fell by 22% in March compared to the same month last year - in March 2019 there were 15,748 patients at the unit and this dropped to 12,307 this year.

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In a Downing Street press conference last Monday, health secretary Matt Hancock expressed alarm at the decline in people going to A&Es, saying: “If you are worried about chest pains, for instance, maybe you might be having a heart attack or a stroke, or you feel a lump and you are worried about cancer, or you are a parent concerned about your child, please come forward and seek help as you always would.”

This week, the NHS in England has begun a new public information campaign to persuade people to use the health service when they need it as seeking medical help is one of the four reasons that people are allowed to leave home, in line with government guidance.

Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, warned that delaying treatment in an emergency could leave people with far more serious health problems. “Heart attacks and strokes are medical emergencies and treating them remains a top priority for the NHS,” she said. “Research has led to several effective treatments for heart attacks, but if you delay, you are more likely to suffer serious heart damage and more likely to need intensive care and to spend longer in hospital.”

Dr Babu-Narayan added that delaying treatment for a stroke 'could leave you with a disability that could have been avoided', explaining: “People should not let fear of the coronavirus, or of being a burden to a hospital, deter them calling 999 when they suffer heart attack or stroke symptoms.”

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An NHS England spokesperson commented: “There is no doubt that, as the chief medical officer said, coronavirus is putting more pressure on NHS services, but NHS staff are freeing up thousands more beds for critical care whilst also keeping other essential services running, so parents, relatives and anyone worried about their own health should continue to use their NHS.”