Take charge of your health and your time with NHS services

GP Ebad Chowdhury explains the range of NHS services available when you have a medical concern, so you can feel at your best and enjoy life to the full.

Spring has arrived and we all want to get out there doing the things we love with the people we love. When life gets busy, we might feel we have less time to look after ourselves, but it’s easier than you think to make sure you keep on top of your health.

I often hear from my patients that ‘life gets in the way’ of making themselves and their health a priority – in fact, a recent NHS survey found that 6 in 10 (60%) South Asians said their busy lifestyle makes it challenging to manage their health and stay healthy. More than a third (36%) also said that not having enough time to make an appointment would stop them from seeking urgent medical help or advice for a health concern. So how can we manage this better and make sure we’re not just putting things off?

The NHS’s latest campaign helps explain its various services and what each offers. There’s also a new film that shows how and when you can use NHS111, your local pharmacy, and the NHS App.

While I’m always happy to see my patients if they’re worried about something, I also want to make sure they’re spending their precious time wisely and using the service that is best for their particular health need.

For example, if you think you need urgent medical help but it’s not a life threatening situation, NHS 111 will assess and direct you to the right place for you – it might be that you get a call back from a GP or a nurse, or they may refer you to an urgent treatment centre. Lots of my patients are now using NHS 111 because it’s just a call away (you can also go online or use the NHS App) and you can access it 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Last year, Anurag had a stomach ache that started one morning and was still there by the evening. It wasn’t getting better, and he began to worry that he wouldn’t be able to get any advice until the next day.

“Luckily, I was speaking to a friend who mentioned that NHS 111 is available 24/7. I called 111 from my mobile and was taken through a set of questions to find out more about what the problem could be. They helped reassure me about what to do and by the morning I felt much better. Most importantly, I hadn’t had to worry about it all night before getting advice.”

Of course, we all want to know that when we’re using an NHS service, we’re getting reliable advice that will help with whatever medical concern we have. Your local pharmacy is more than a place to pick up prescriptions and can be a really valuable source of help. Community pharmacists are highly trained healthcare professionals, who can provide treatment or some prescription medicine for seven common conditions, without you seeing a GP – for earache (for those aged 1 to 17 years); impetigo; infected insect bites; shingles; sinusitis; a sore throat; and urinary tract infection for women aged 16 to 64. They can also provide oral contraceptives.

The thing to remember is that if you have a medical concern, the NHS is here for you. With different services to suit what you need; you can stay in control of your health without wasting time.

For more information on the services your community pharmacist can offer, visit www.nhs.uk/thinkpharmacyfirst  

To access NHS 111 you can call, go online or use the NHS App. Find out more at www.nhs.uk/111

Download the NHS App at www.nhs.uk/nhsapp