“Think” which NHS service is best for you, urge health leaders, as winter pressures increase
Health leaders in Derby and Derbyshire are urging people to “think which service” is right for their needs.
Pressure on NHS services in Derby and Derbyshire has increased in recent days and some people who are attending emergency departments would receive a quicker and more appropriate service from a community pharmacist, or at an urgent treatment centre, say NHS leaders.
Dr Chris Weiner, NHS Derby and Derbyshire chief medical officer, said: “Our NHS system has come under sustained pressure in recent days.
“Larger numbers of people than usual have been attending our emergency departments and as a result wait times are longer than normal.”
Dr Weiner asked people to take advice from the NHS Derby and Derbyshire’s winter “Think which service” information campaign so they could make an informed choice over which service to use if they, or a relative, become ill.
Dr Weiner said: “We are seeing people attending our hospital emergency departments with issues like abdominal pain, urinary tract infections, coughs, respiratory infections and skin rashes. These are things a community pharmacist can often help with.
“People are also attending having had a fall – and this is something that our urgent treatment centres across the county can treat.
“Accessing the right service at the right time and in the right place means that emergency ambulances and hospital department clinicians can focus on treating people whose life is most at risk.
“We would also ask that if people have the norovirus bug that is causing vomiting or diarrhoea that they stay away from work, school, and care homes, and don’t visit a hospital unless advised to by NHS 111 or another NHS professional, because the infection can spread quickly.”
The NHS in Derby and Derbyshire “Think which service” information campaign offers a guide to service, including:
- Self care – for example by getting your flu and covid vaccinations, if you are eligible, staying warm at home, and keeping your medicines cabinet stocked up. Vaccinations
- NHS 111- for a medical problem that isn’t life-threatening but requires immediate help.
- Pharmacy – to get treatment, without an appointment, for conditions such as coughs, colds and the flu
- GP Practice – for persistent, recurring problems that are not improving with self care.
- Urgent treatment centres – if you need urgent medical attention, but it’s not a life-threatening situation. Derbyshire has urgent treatment centres at Ilkeston Community Hospital, Whitworth Hospital (Darley Dale), Ripley Community Hospital, Buxton Hospital and Osmaston Road, Derby.
- Hospital emergency department – for serious or life-threatening injuries and illnesses