Local health and care services in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are under a significant amount of pressure and as a result have made an urgent plea to the public to help them.
Nationally and locally, health and care systems are facing huge pressure due to demand from the public, staff shortages and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This means it is essential the public choose the right service.
If you think you need A&E use NHS 111 first. It helps us get you to the right service faster and keeps our staff and patients safe whilst Covid-19 is in circulation. If you need urgent medical attention when it’s not an emergency call 111 or visit 111.nhs.uk
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire health and care bosses are asking the public to help them protect their services for those who need them the most as services have now become increasingly under pressure.
Dr James Hopkinson, a local GP and Clinical Leader of the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “Our services are under a significant amount of pressure and we are seeing long waiting times at our A&E departments. This bank holiday we need the public’s help now more than ever to protect our services for those that need urgent care.
“We are seeing an increasing number of Covid-19 cases across the county and this is being reflected in our hospitals. In order to protect our patients in hospital we need to reduce the risk of Covid-19 being spread within our health settings and this is why we need the public to think twice about accessing our services if they don’t need to be there.
“We know the public are incredible in their support of the NHS and our ask is simple, please think about how you use our services, wear a mask and do a lateral flow test before entering our health settings. If people do need services call 111 or visit www.111.nhs.uk
“Our hospital staff are working incredibly hard to see everyone in a timely way, but when demand is so high, patients may have to wait longer than we would like whilst we prioritise our sickest patients.”
There are three conveniently placed urgent treatment centres in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire which health bosses are urging the public to attend instead of going to hospital. These are in London Road in Nottingham, Primary Care 24 at King’s Mill Hospital and Newark Urgent Treatment Centre in Boundary Road.
For other non-emergencies, the public can also contact their GP surgery or visit their local pharmacist. For any uncertainty please contact NHS 111 by calling 111 or visit the NHS website.
To help local health services further, please do not go to hospital to get a Covid-19 test. Those who are symptomatic should stay at home and go to the Government website or call 119 to book an appointment or order a home test kit. If you have not been able to get the test you need from gov.uk, please keep checking every few hours as more PCR and Lateral Flow tests become available every day.
The public can help its local NHS by:
If you have not yet had a Covid-19 vaccine, or have yet to have a booster, please book an appointment on the NHS website or by calling 119. You can book a booster appointment for 28 days after testing positive for Covid-19.
Dr James Hopkinson added: “We know that this New Year’s Eve people will be keen to go out and get together with friends but being safe is vital in protecting us all from getting the omicron variant. Please be safe, sensible and help our NHS staff to care for those who need our services most.”
