Clinicians from across Dorset are reminding people to stay well in advance of the upcoming bank holiday by being prepared and making the right choice when they need treatment.
Getting the right care in the right place can help you get seen quicker and ease pressure on local emergency departments (A&E) which often see an increase in demand at certain times of year.
There are a number ways to get help:
- Call NHS 111 – for advice and medical help when it is not a life threatening situation or you need medical advice or are not sure who to contact;
- GP routine care – chronic backache, persistent pain, painful cough, earache;
- GP urgent care or Minor Injury Units – sprains, strains and minor injuries;
- Emergency departments – heavy bleeding, broken bones, chest pain, suspected stroke, burns;
- Local pharmacy – headaches, coughs and colds, upset stomach.
Getting organised and thinking ahead can also help.
Stock up your medicine cabinet, so that you have self-help medicines such as a first aid kit, paracetamol and a thermometer, in case you need them whilst the pharmacies are closed. Your pharmacist will be able to advise you on what to keep in the house.
If you have a regular prescription, make sure you have enough to last over the bank holiday and until your GP surgery opens again. Talk to your doctor or nurse practitioner about whether you can get extra quantities to last you over the break.
If you need to see a GP and your usual practice is not open, additional sessions will be running as follows:
Harvey Practice, Broadstone, BH18 8EE
· Saturday 28 May 10am – 6pm
· Sunday 29 May 10am – 6pm
· Monday 30 May 10am – 6pm
Parkstone Health Centre, BH14 0DJ
· Saturday 28 May 10am – 4pm
· Sunday 29 May 10am – 4pm
· Monday 30 May 10am – 4pm
Local GP with Harvey Practice Dr Lionel Cartwright said “It is quite normal that over the long weekends health services see an increase in demand for a number of reasons. To help manage this demand and enable those people in most need get the help they require, our practice will be running a number of extra clinics for people who are taken ill but maybe cannot get to see their own GP. Anyone who is registered with a Dorset practice is welcome to attend, however we would ask that people call in advance and don’t just turn up.
It is important that anyone who is seeking medical help over the weekend is aware of the different places they can get it including local pharmacies, minor injury units, walk in centres or by calling 111 in the first instance if they are not sure who to talk to”.
Full details along with more information on staying well are available via www.staywelldorset.nhs.uk.