Health advice for Christmas and New Year

Health organisations are encouraging people to think ahead about where to seek help if they fall ill at Christmas.

Nobody wants to wake up on Christmas Day with a rotten cold or to stay in on New Year’s Eve because they feel under the weather.

The NHS South West Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group has issued advice.

It claims the best place to start is with a well-stocked medicine cabinet.

Shoppers can stock up on basic medicines that will help treat minor illnesses including coughs, colds and flu from their local pharmacy or even the supermarket, so why not pick up some paracetamol alongside your turkey?

Pharmacists can also offer advice on a range of issues whether it is a cough or managing a long-term condition. They are highly trained and able to tell you if something needs more urgent medical attention from your GP, or even the hospital.

Patients should also check if they need to order a repeat prescription to last over the holidays. Make sure you place any orders for repeat prescriptions with your GP in plenty of time to ensure you don’t run out and allow about four working days for collection.

For health advice you can call NHS111 which operates 24 hours a day all year round.

The Christmas and New Year period is always one of the busiest times of the year for the health service and using the NHS111 service ensures you get the best service to meet your health needs.

You could be advised to attend a late-opening pharmacy, emergency dentist, out-of-hours GP, community nurse, minor injuries unit, urgent care centre or accident and emergency department.

By using NHS111 you can help free up 999 and hospital departments so they can focus on emergency cases.

For immediate, life-threatening emergencies you should always dial 999.