August bank holiday healthcare options

The NHS in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) is asking people to be prepared and to get in the know about the NHS services to use over the summer bank holiday weekend.

GP practices and many community pharmacies will be closed on Monday 26 August, therefore people are being urged to check the Get in the Know website for LLR, to find out how to get the right care as quickly as possible when they are unwell or injured, with all the information on local services and summer health advice in one place.

For all urgent health needs over the bank holiday, people are advised to use NHS111 online www.111.nhs.uk or they can phone 111 or use the NHS App. If necessary, they can arrange for you to see a nurse or doctor at a local urgent care service, with an appointment or arrival time-slot. You can use many of these services without an appointment, but you are advised to use NHS 111 to make sure it is the right place for you and to keep your waiting time down.  View a new map of all the local urgent care services here. To find out more about the urgent care services available locally, visit: https://bit.ly/LLRUrgentCare.

For urgent mental health support, people can call the Central Access Point (CAP) on 0116 295 3060 and 0808 800 3302 open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Neighbourhood Mental Health Cafés offer local support for people who need immediate help with their mental health. The cafes are drop-in centres for people who need to talk about their mental health – no is appointment needed. For more information, visit: https://www.leicspart.nhs.uk/service/neighbourhood-mh-cafes/.

The 999 service and the Emergency Department should only be used for an urgent, life threatening, medical situation, where emergency assistance is required.

Local community pharmacists are qualified health professionals and are the right people to see for advice on minor ailments and for over-the-counter medicines. You can find a list of the pharmacies that will be open on bank holiday Monday and their opening times at: https://leicesterleicestershireandrutland.icb.nhs.uk/your-health/get-in-the-know/right-now/bank-holiday-pharmacy-opening-times/. Under the Pharmacy First scheme, many pharmacies can also now offer treatment and prescription medicine for some conditions, without you needing to see a GP.

If you are unwell when away from home in the UK, your own GP practice should still be your first port of call, on days when they are open. They will be able to provide online, phone and video consultations and arrange for prescriptions to be sent to any pharmacy you choose.

For more information, visit: https://leicesterleicestershireandrutland.icb.nhs.uk/your-health/get-in-the-know/right-now/