The videos show actors – one of which is former Apprentice contestant Noorul Choudhury – attending A&E for failed festive pranks or stupid reasons like needing help carving a turkey.
One scene shows two men playing a drinking game in an A&E café after bringing their friend in to have the word “dick” – written in permanent ink – removed from his forehead.
Another shows a woman asking staff to help her carve a turkey with a medical saw.
There’s also a shot of a woman being wheeled past on all fours after sitting on a photocopier and breaking the glass at the office party.
Around 40 per cent of all A&E attendances are for alcohol-related illnesses, say experts. The figure rises dramatically over Christmas and New Year.
Dr Mike Cheshire, medical director at NHS North West, who commissioned the videos, said: “These comedy films support Choose Well, a national campaign which encourages people to think carefully about their condition before they go to A&E.
“As many as one in four people who go to A&E units could use alternative facilities like pharmacies or GP surgeries, or don’t need any kind of treatment at all.
“These unsuitable attendances cost the NHS around £100 million every year.
“At Christmas, paramedics and A&E staff are under their most severe pressure.”
Medics are expecting two “mad Fridays” this year, on December 16 and 23, because Christmas Day falls on a Sunday.
