New plan for GPs and local pharmacies
As you may have seen, the NHS published a “Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care” on 9th May. Please note that the initiatives in this plan – including new services from pharmacies – have not started yet. They will come into effect over the coming months.
In the meantime, please continue to contact us, or use other NHS services, in the appropriate way.
[Standing information for websites]
What we do when you contact us
When you contact us, our practitioners assess how urgent your needs are.
Urgent needs: if your need is clinically urgent, we will contact you and assess your needs on the same day, by a telephone or face-to-face appointment. If you contact us in the afternoon, we may contact you on the following day, but only if we decide that it is appropriate to wait.
Non-urgent needs: if we decide that your need is not urgent, but requires a telephone or face-to-face appointment, we will schedule this within two weeks.
Where appropriate, we will signpost you to community pharmacy and / or other local services.
If you cannot contact us, or when your GP practice is closed:
· Life-threatening emergency or serious injury: call 999 or go to your nearest Emergency Department (A&E)
· Other injury or urgent need for treatment: go to your nearest Urgent Treatment Centre
· If you are unwell and need medical help: visit NHS 111 online or call 111
· For expert advice and medicines: visit your local pharmacy
· Mental health emergency: visit NHS 111 online
What NHS 111 cannot do:
· Issue fit notes. You need to contact your GP for these
· Make or cancel appointments for you in other parts of the NHS
Other ways to contact NHS 111:
· If you need help in other languages, call 111 and ask for an interpreter or
· For BSL use signvideo.co.uk/nhs111
