Doctors warn football fans to take it easy

Date published: 14/06/2006

A&E doctors at Rochdale Infirmary are warning football fans to take it easy as they cheer England in the World Cup.

The move comes after attendances at the A&E unit jumped sharply from their normal rate last weekend, when the national side beat Paraguay 1-0.

Many of those attending were drunk or had very minor injuries or complaints, and as the units grew busier, waiting times were pushed right up to the four hour target.

Over the weekend, patient numbers at A&E were 419 in comparison to the usual average of 320.

Mr Sujit Kumar, the senior A&E consultant for the Pennine Trust, of which Rochdale Infirmary is a part, said: "No-one wants to be a kill-joy, but anyone following the football should take it easy and in particular try to avoid drinking too much. Ending up in A&E is not what you want after the final whistle has blown.

"Anyone who really needs A&E should, of course, come as normal – that’s what we’re here for. However, we would warn people that the waiting times for less urgent treatment are likely to be longer than usual during these very busy periods.

"As always, for minor ailments, people should think about using their GPs, NHS Walk-in Centres, NHS Direct and pharmacists, who can deal with a wide range of minor complaints very quickly."

A&E service manager Nikki Ryan said: "We’d apologise for any inconvenience to anyone attending A&E, but if they are really busy then patients with minor complaints will obviously have to wait longer than they might normally expect.

"No-one wants to spend more time in A&E than they need to, and we’d certainly recommend that patients with minor ailments or injuries are using the full range of NHS services, and don’t just automatically go to A&E, as their treatment may take longer."

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