The campaign aims to reduce ED attendances for minor illnesses and injuries by highlighting other health services available for non-emergencies.
Last year more than 2,800 Western Australians spent Australia Day in the Emergency Department (ED).
Many of these ED visits stemmed from avoidable illnesses and injuries resulting from overindulging in food, alcohol or risk-taking.
A significant proportion could have been treated more quickly and appropriately by General Practitioners, healthdirect, pharmacies or self-assessment.
In 2016, approximately 160,000 – or 15.8 per cent – of the one million ED attendances could have been addressed by other health care options, with abdominal pain and ankle sprain/strains among the top 10 ED diagnoses.
EDs are not always the best place to be treated or recuperate from an illness and we need to ensure they remain free for emergencies.
The health care options campaign launched in June 2016, aims to reduce the number of people attending hospital EDs with minor illnesses or injuries, by highlighting a number of other health services available for non-emergency issues.
More information about health care options can be found on HealthyWA (external site).