Doncaster health professional warns people not to overlook non-Covid concerns because of the pandemic

A leading Doncaster health professional has warned people not to overlook non-Covid concerns because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Rob Moore, director of Home Instead Doncaster, fears concern over safety means people are putting off getting help which means more substantive intervention may ultimately be required either from the NHS or care workers.Robert said: “The social distancing and other safety measures are all needed, but I’d really encourage people not to overlook other aspects of their health.“We know that delays to treatment can provide further complications down the line, this can mean an issue is not spotted until it is significantly more serious or more care is needed because a person’s health has deteriorated in a way which could have been avoided.“We unfortunately saw a drop-off in people coming forward with some of the simpler health problems in 2020, with leading NHS figures like Professor Chris Whitty using their platforms to encourage people not to overlook other potentially significant issues."One very clear example of this is in dementia care - where diagnosis rates dropped significantly in 2020. Dementia hasn't gone anywhere, but people were strictly heeding the message to stay at home or scared to have people come into their house and the unfortunate result is there are people out there with undiagnosed dementia not getting the help needed.

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“That was something we saw in Doncaster, and as we head into the second year of the pandemic with a clear route out of it now it is really important that people get help just as they would have done before our worlds were all turned upside down."The way to access help is no different to before the pandemic, with the NHS still there to offer guidance alongside established home care providers such as Home Instead.Rob added: “The NHS teams locally have been working round the clock for what probably feels like forever, but I’m sure your local GP would agree they’d rather spend the time assessing you now than wait another month or two and risk health issues getting worse.“That’s definitely our approach, we had people who put off contacting us during the strictest lockdowns last year and in the end the services needed were more significant because they only came to us when it was a crisis point. These people, ultimately, had to put their loved ones into care homes when we could have helped them stay at home, living independently, with as much mobility and independence as possible for as long as possible.

Seek medical advice for non-Covid issuesSeek medical advice for non-Covid issues
Seek medical advice for non-Covid issues
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"If you’re not sure about contacting your usual GP, call the NHS on 111 or go to 111.nhs.uk and I'm sure they'd rather spend a few minutes now helping figure things out than leave things and it need a larger intervention in future. The NHS had to put a lot of things on hold to cope during 2020, and although it may seem strange to say it by seeking help for a relatively minor thing now you're helping reduce the workload in the future."

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