Hospitals Forced to Issue Appeal on Facebook After Surge of Chocoholics with Indigestion

In the UK, the Accident and Emergency departments spent one of the busiest weekends of the year dealing with people who overindulged on Easter eggs. The South Tees Foundation Trust issued a warning post on Facebook: “Believe it or not, we do have people coming into A&E with stomach aches caused by overindulgence. If you’ve had one too many Easter eggs and a big Sunday dinner, you’re likely to feel better after a rest at home and drinking plenty of water.”

Another message posted later in the day read: “Ear wax, stomach problems caused by overeating, false nails that won’t come off, headache, period pain, colds and flu, sickness and diarrhea – we have seen all of these in A&E in recent weeks. Please only attend A&E if you are seriously ill or injured. If you attend with a minor illness or injury, you could face a long wait.”

Julie Suckling, directorate manager of A&E, said, “Many people mistakenly believe they can get a quicker referral to a specialist for minor illnesses if they arrive at A&E rather than going to their GP.

“Minor complaints that reoccur should be dealt with by a GP and you should only attend for assessment if you have an acute (sudden and serious) complaint, that requires emergency care,” said Suckling.

Latest figures showed that earlier this month the waiting times in A&E were at their worst level in more than 11 years. In the month of January, more than 212,000 patients had waited at least four hours to be admitted onto a ward or discharged.

Source-Medindia