EXTRA efforts are going to be made to persuade the most frequent 50 visitors to East Lancashire’s casualty department that their health needs could be met elsewhere.

Bosses at Blackburn with Darwen and East Lancashire clinical commissioning groups have teamed up to offer a new service aimed at vulnerable patients who frequently attend the accident and emergency unit.

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Some may be turning up at the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital’s A&E because of their complex health needs.

But others could be attending because of mixture of social and mental health needs, which experts feel could be addressed by specialist help in the community.

Supporters of the initiative hope it will decrease demands on the hard-pressed casualty ward, which is among the busiest in the north-west.

Change, Grow, Live (CGL) in Lancashire, the charity which runs local substance misuse services from offices in Burnley and Accrington, has been selected to run the contract by the CCGs.

Dr Rakesh Sharma, Clinical Lead for Mental Health and Learning Disabilities clinical lead, said: “This service will cut across health and social care in so many ways and provide the focused support that will help people to achieve improved physical and mental wellbeing.”

The 50 most pressing cases will be worked with first - but the work could be extended to dozens of others.

Nichola Armitage, head of services at CGL Lancashire, said: “We are looking forward to working with the existing liaison services and other agencies in Pennine Lancashire to ensure people receive the support and treatment they require.

“While much of our work will involve supporting people who have contact with the emergency department, we will be using the assets within our communities to achieve and sustain wellness and build resilience.”

Those worst affected, who may have suffered a range of other problems around domestic violence, substance abuse, loneliness and isolation and debt, will be assigned a case worker to provide intensive support. Further work could see patients engage with community services and build ties with a designated GP.

Russ McLean, chairman of the East Lancashire Patients Voice group, said: “What you would like to see is more help with social care, which many of these patients may need, but isn’t always out there.

“I’ve heard of people involved with the 111 service, and at the A&E, who have to effectively act as Samaritans to these vulnerable people.”