NHS Lincolnshire texts patients waits

NHS Choices and NHS Lincolnshire have launched a mobile texting service to deliver instant information on waiting times in A&E departments and a tool about getting the right treatment in the right place.

NHS Lincolnshire said the two digital services are designed to help people access the right kinds of urgent care and make the choice of which NHS service to use easier.

The free mobile service means users who send a text message to a dedicated number containing the word WAITING will receive the latest waiting times at A&E departments in three local hospitals and the walk-in centre.

The desktop widget, created by NHS Lincolnshire and NHS Choices, provides guidance about getting the right treatment in the Lincolnshire area depending on the health concern and also displays real-time waiting times in the same way as the text service. NHS Lincolnshire said it was the first tool of its kind in the UK.

NHS Lincolnshire is now urging all its residents, particularly students and those care for vulnerable elderly or young children, to download the widget and save the waiting times number to their mobile phones.

Peter Buckley, emergency care programme director at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said the number of people attending the trust’s A&E departments was continuing to rise and its priority was to care for the clinically most needy and vulnerable patients.

He added: “We hope that when patients use the waiting text alert and dashboard they can and will make more informed decisions about whether alternative care of similar high quality that is available throughout Lincolnshire might well be a better choice for them.

“This will free up the time of our clinical staff to concentrate on those that really need the services of an A&E department.”

Gary Ashby, NHS Choices programme director, said NHS Choices already provided wide-ranging and trusted information to help individuals make the right choices about their health and care.

He added: “Working with the NHS in Lincolnshire on using real-time data and alternatives is the next step in empowering individuals not only to make for right choices for themselves and their families through information but also reduces the burden on essential NHS services.”

The widget can be downloaded from the hospital website www.ulh.nhs.uk and the PCT’s website.