NHS Brighton and Hove CCG has launched a campaign encouraging patients to help GPs by using services appropriately and self-managing their illnesses.
It will be advertised on posters in GP practices across Brighton and Hove as well as on social media with the hashtag #HelpMyNHS.
It follows a similar campaign from January this year where the CCG asked GPs to stop prescribing ibuprofen and paracetamol for short-term minor ailments in a bid to save half a million pounds.
The new patient-facing information campaign, which launches on Monday, uses the hasthag #HelpMyGP to request patients to use GP services appropriately, take steps to avoid getting ill, self-manage minor illnesses and use alternative services such as pharmacists when they don’t need a GP appointments.
CCG chair and GP Dr David Supple said: ‘The NHS is doing everything it can with the resources it has to prepare for the extra pressures we expect to face this winter, now we are calling the public to action to HelpMyNHS by ensuring they access the right service for their needs at the right time.
‘We have found one of the main reasons services aren’t being used properly is a lack of awareness of the other services outside of GP appointments and A&E when there are fantastic alternatives like walk-in centres that offer quicker treatment closer to home.’
Please note: this was changed at 14:55 on 27 November. It originally stated that the campaign was intended to cut down on the prescribing ibuprofen and paracetamol. This campaign was actually launched in January 2017. The recent campaign is focused on encouraging patients to use services appropriately
