Did you know that you don’t always have to ring your GP surgery for medical advice.   Medical advice is available from other services.   Two that are worth mentioning are NHS Direct and Call 111.  You can EVEN call them when your GP surgery is open.  In fact, if you are tired of waiting for your GP surgery to pick up the phone, why not give one of these services a call?

NHS DIRECT

Simply dial/press 0845 4647 on your phone to access this service.  For health advice and reassurance, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  You can even check your symptoms with their online symptom checker – click here to access it now.  NHS Direct is here to make a difference to the lives of people in England, 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. Our vision is to be the national health line, providing expert health advice, information and reassurance, using our world-class telephone and digital services and website, and to be the NHS’ provider of choice for telephone and digitally delivered health services.

A single telephone number for people in England, 0845 4647, gives access to round-the-clock clinical information, confidential advice and reassurance. Our healthcare professionals, including nurses, trained health advisors and dental advisors can deal with a wide range of health queries.

CALL 111

Simply dial/press 111 on your phone to access this service.  NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year (366 days in each leap year) to respond to people’s health and social care needs when:

• It is not a life-threatening situation, and therefore is less urgent than a 999 call
• The patient does not have a GP to call or a GP is not available
• The Caller feels they cannot wait and is simply unsure of which service they require
• The Caller requires health information or reassurance about what to do next.

NHS 111 calls are answered by highly trained Advisors, supported by experienced Clinicians who assess the Caller’s needs and determine the most appropriate course of action, including:

• For Callers facing an emergency, dispatching an ambulance without delay.
• Where a face to face consultation is required, an appointment will be booked where that facility exists or the Caller will be referred to the service that has the appropriate skills and resources to meet their needs in the required timeframe
• For Callers who do not require a face to face consultation, information, advice or reassurance will be provided. Where the call is outside the scope of NHS 111, the Caller will be signposted to an appropriate alternative service.