NHS South West London tweets the ‘Twelve Days of #NHSXmas’ to help Londoners choose the right service for them over the festive period.

NHS South West London is teaming up with NHS London via twitter #NHSXmas to urge all Londoners to Choose Well this Christmas with a series of tweets based on the Christmas Carol ’Twelve Days of Christmas’.  Beginning on Christmas Day, each of the twelve days will bring a new rhyming tweet about a seasonal ailment and the best place to get it treated during the holidays – simply follow the hashtag #NHSXmas.

The tweets are part of a wider campaign launched earlier this month helping patients choose the right healthcare services in South West London and to take pressure off A&E services over the busy winter season.

While for most people the Christmas period is a time for relaxing at home with the family, it can be a very busy time of year for the capital’s doctors and nurses with cold weather and seasonal viruses such as flu doing the rounds. 

Whether you’ve slipped and fallen on the ice; cut your hand carving the turkey; or strained your back putting up the tree, choosing the right NHS service for your symptoms means you’ll be seen quickly and get the treatment you need.  It also eases the pressure on A&E and 999 services meaning they can concentrate on helping those with life-threatening conditions who are most in need of their care.

Figures show that 20 per cent of people who visited an A and E department in South West London over the last year have not required any treatment, which amounts to 44,000 people.

Dr Agnelo Fernandes, a local South West London GP, said: “It’s vital that over the winter months people feel able to make the right choice, so that services like A and E are not unnecessarily overloaded, and we hope this campaign will help to support patients. Remember you can always contact your GP during the day and the out of hours service when your GP surgery is closed.”

Dr Andy Mitchell, Medical Director at NHS London added:  “There is a wide variety of NHS services available and I know it can sometimes be confusing knowing which one is right for you when you’re not feeling 100%.  Over 76,000 people follow London’s NHS organisations on twitter, so we’re tweeting this Christmas to reach out to Londoners with some examples of illnesses and injuries typical at this time of year, and advice on where they can be best treated.

“If you feel unwell this Christmas, help us to help you by thinking carefully about what care you need.  It’s really important to remember that 999 and A&E services are only for seriously ill people and emergencies.  A well stocked medicine cabinet can deal with many minor ailments and injuries.

Follow @NHSSWLondon over the twelve days of Christmas at #NHSXmas tweets.

For patients outside of South West London please follow @NHSLondonSHA

To view the service guide bespoke for NHS South West London visit http://www.southwestlondon.nhs.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/SW%20London%20guide%20-%20website.pdf

Choose the right healthcare service for you this festive season, and have a happy, healthy #NHSXmas.

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Notes to editors

1.         Media enquires for NHS South West London can be directed to 020 3458 5717 or emailed to media@swlondon.nhs.uk

2.         NHS South West London brings together five local Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in Croydon, Kingston, Richmond, Sutton and Merton and Wandsworth to share one management team, resources, roles and other functions.

3.         For more information on pan-london, please contact the NHS London Communications Team on 0207 932 3911 or email media@london.nhs.uk.  Outside of office hours (08:30 to 18:00, Monday to Friday), please call 0844 8222888 and ask for pager LON01.

4.         From the first day of xmas (December 25) and during the twelve days of xmas a series of tweets will be on twitter at #NHSXmas to urge Londoners to Choose Well this Christmas. The tweets are based on the Christmas Carol ’Twelve Days of Christmas’. Beginning on Christmas Day, each of the twelve days will bring a new rhyming tweet about a seasonal ailment and a responding tweet with the best place to get it treated during the holidays.

Example of tweets below: