Health advice

Unwell or injured? Choose the right NHS service for the right treatment

Chest pain; serious blood loss; serious breathing difficulties; serious injury:

Call 999

Need medical help fast but it’s not an emergency?

Phone the NHS 111 service for advice and save going to your nearest accident and emergency department for when you really need it. For details of NHS services, a symptom checker, and lots of health advice and ideas visit the NHS website at www.nhs.uk.

Cuts; sprains; minor burns, suspected fractures of arm, shoulder, lower leg:

Go to your local NHS Minor Injuries Unit, Walk in Centre or Urgent Care Centre. Or call the free NHS helpline on 111.

Feverish children; feeling unwell; injury over 24 hours old

Contact your GP practice or phone the NHS 111 service.

Minor infections; sore throats; colds.

Ask for advice from a pharmacist. Many local pharmacies are open late into the evening and on Sundays. There is always pharmacy cover on bank holidays, including Christmas Day.

NHS App

You can access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet by using the NHS, For information including how to download it visit the NHS App webpage.

Who should emergency services contact if you’re injured?

Pick an ‘ICE’ - ‘In Case of an Emergency’ partner and store their contact info in your mobile phone address book. Just enter the word ICE before their name and number.

This means the emergency services can quickly and easily find someone to contact if you’re injured and can’t communicate. They simply search for ICE on your mobile.

Make sure that:

The person whose name and number you are using has agreed to be your ICE partner.
Your ICE partner knows who to contact on your behalf, plus any important medical information.
If your ICE contact is deaf, you type ICETEXT then their name before saving the number.
If you want more than one ICE partner, simply save them as ICE1, ICE2 etc.
If you haven’t got a mobile, keep your ICE partner’s contact info on paper in your wallet or purse.

Get trained in first aid

A simple first aid course can give you basic skills that could help save a life.

For local courses see St. John Ambulance or British Red Cross