Emergency Department attendance 20-29 year old’s in Wakefield District

Healthwatch across West Yorkshire were asked by the Urgent and Emergency Care Board, within the West Yorkshire Partnership, to produce an insight report into the behaviours or young adults aged around 20–29 years who attended Emergency Departments, for non-emergency needs within the last three months. The aim was to provide a better understanding of the behaviours and motivations of this group. The Board also wanted to understand the awareness that this group currently have of alternative care services and their experience of accessing them.

Across West Yorkshire, 313 responses were received from people aged 20–29, who had used Emergency Departments for care and treatment between November 2021 and February 2022. Fifty of these responses were from Wakefield hospitals with 33 being from Pinderfields Hospital and 17 from Pontefract Hospital.

Reassurance was the main reason why people went to A&E for a non-live threatening or emergency need.  Of these, nearly a third weren’t registered with a GP.

Nearly three quarters had considered or tried to use other health services before coming to A&E. Three in five had been told to come to A&E by 111, GP or pharmacy.

Over two in five did not think about the length of wait they may experience at the Emergency Department. Nearly all (82%) were seen within four hours.  Over half of all respondents stated that their waiting time would deter them from using Emergency Departments in the future.

Seven in ten had seen information about alternatives to Emergency Department treatment. They judged NHS sources to be most reliable and social media to be least reliable.

Three quarters of respondents across the Wakefield district indicated that if they had increased information about their options, it would inform their future decisions around attending Emergency Departments.