New Campaign Says See the GP, Not the ED

A new marketing campaign by the Queensland Government has been designed to get people to visit their GP, not hospital Emergency Departments.

The campaign, inspired by light and sometimes humorous overseas and interstate advertisements including the National Health Service in the UK and the West Australian Government, is part of the effort to reduce hospital waiting times and make people understand that visiting the ED with comparably small issues is not acceptable.

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said Queensland Health had begun planning the campaign to reduce thousands of unnecessary GP-type patient presentations made to the ED each year.

“In Queensland on average, approximately a third of people visiting an ED could be seen by a GP without compromising their health outcome," Mr Springborg said.

"When you look at the type of complaints some people are presenting with, there may also be many people underestimating what type of cases their GP can actually handle.

“For example, thousands of Queenslanders have presented with a toothache, finger strain or sprain, constipation, a headache, or neck pain ... Parents have even brought in a child with nappy rash, and some people complain of not being able to sleep ... Others have simply come looking for a medical certificate to get off work or get their prescription refilled.

“This is simply not acceptable anymore. An Emergency Department is for people with serious, life-threatening or potentially life-threatening conditions, who need urgent medical assistance.”