Take care and choose well this winter

Ask Your Pharmacist Week 5-12th November

Under pressure health workers in Rochdale borough are appealing to local people to think twice before rushing to doctors or urgent care this winter.

NHS research reveals that more than 51.4million Britons visit their GP for minor illnesses which could have been treated with over-the-counter remedies, while 12% admitted using A&E when they knew they weren’t seriously ill.

“This is putting a strain on resources at a very busy time” said Dr Lynn Hampson, local GP and NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Lead on planned and unplanned healthcare.

“Each winter, GP practices, Urgent Care Centres, A&E’s and ambulances all experience a huge surge in patient numbers. We also know that one out of every four patients visiting A&E could have visited other services such as their pharmacy for advice and remedies for conditions such as colds and flu.

“We need to ensure that, during the winter, ambulance staff and A&E’s are free to help those with serious and life-threatening conditions.

“During the winter, the number of serious and life-threatening cases increase when temperatures fall below 12 degrees Celsius – that’s people with breathing problems, strokes and heart attacks caused by the cold weather.

“We know people can sometimes get confused about which NHS service to use, but what we don’t need is people calling 999 or going to their GP when there’s no real need.”

This month sees the start of a nationwide campaign encouraging the public to ‘Choose Well’ and inform them about the NHS services available.

The programme encourages people to ‘help themselves’ and to use community pharmacies for common complaints such as colds, coughs, flu, stomach upsets and general aches and pains.

And Ask Your Pharmacist week on 5-12 November is part of the awareness raising to encourage people to think twice about which service to choose, with a focus on men taking a more active interest in their medicines.

Atika Islam, local pharmacist said: “Don’t forget that we’re there for you all year round. You can get a lot more from your pharmacist than just your medicines and advice on how to use them. Some pharmacists even give flu jabs. We also give advice on many healthy lifestyle options, such as managing your weight, stopping smoking, or taking more exercise.

“We can also deal with many minor ailments without you having to see your GP - such as athlete’s foot, head lice, tummy upsets, and so on... And even if we can’t help you then we can point you in the right direction. For free, accessible, expert advice, Ask Your Pharmacist”.