NHS, Direct into your ears! (NHS Direct)

Member Name: Fishbulb

Product:	NHS Direct
Date:	20/08/02 (412 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Don't waste unecessary time at doctors, Set's your mind at rest, 24 hour service

Disadvantages: Only an information service, Still need to seek medical help

It’s becoming nearly impossible to obtain an appointment with my doctor, he works between 3 and 4 days per week and when he’s not in, the other doctor in the surgery will not even entertain the idea of seeing me, as I’m not one of his registered patients.

I can appreciate that doctors are getting busier and busier, but with over half of the day’s appointments being taken up for emergency appointments in our local surgery, how on earth is a normal person supposed to get themselves checked by a GP? This results in my not bothering at all generally to visit them, but of course, I still get ill like the rest of you – so what can I do?

<Enter, stage right, NHS Direct>

Well, lets start at the beginning shall we, NHS Direct is a 24 hour helpline offering confidential health advice. The helpline is manned by NHS Nurses and currently it is active within England and Wales (Telephone No. 0845 4647) with NHS24 (NHS24 0800 224488) being introduced as the Scottish counterpart this year. It’s probably worth noting that for your protection, all telephone calls are recorded. Although we are not charged for the service the telephone calls are all charged at ‘local rate’ whatever that may be for you.

How does it work then?
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Well, you’ll need to ring the helpline and provide as much information about the problem as possible.

The following information is a brief guideline and example as to what you will probably be asked.

Age / sex of patient
What symptoms are there / when did they come on
Any history of <insert problem>
Have any drugs been taken / are you on any medicines at the moment (inc St Johns Wort)
What have you tried to remedy the problem
Also, it’s worth noting that you should provide as much information that you feel is relevant to the situation. For example, if you should be suffering from stomach pains and yo
u had shellfish in a restaurant previously – this is something that should be brought up as your symptoms may match those of food poisoning. Obviously many many illnesses have the same and similar symptoms so it’s worth mentioning any little factors like this at the time – to eliminate the likelihood of a misdiagnosis.

After you’ve finished speaking with the nurse, she will repeat all the information that you have given her and take a telephone number so she can call you back after consulting a computer with the details. In my experience, this usually takes between 10 – 30 minutes. (But you will be given a time-frame for feedback)

What’s the point of this service?
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Well, by calling the NHS Direct Helpline, you’re not wasting a doctors appointment – (or your own time) this helpline is by no means a substitute for the genuinely ill – but if you’ve just bashed your elbow or have a mild headache, think about it from a purely selfish point of view; do you really want to sit in the doctors waiting for an hour for an emergency appointment? If you suspect you’ve twisted your ankle, would you then get a taxi over to the doctors to be told exactly that? Why would you, if you have a direct telephone line to the NHS? (Of course, more often than not they will tell you to go and visit your GP anyway, but at least you can set your mind at ease with this service)

Looking at this service from the points of view of different people in my own community, I can see why this service is so highly thought of.

Imagine this, you’re a young (first-time) Mum, you have your baby at home, everyone you know is at work and you don’t drive but you suspect your baby is perhaps poorly – you don’t know if it’s wind or something more serious. How great would it be to be able to make one telephone call and speak with someone who can talk you throu
gh the symptoms and guide you or even advise you if it’s worth visiting the doctor or hospital.

If you’re elderly and perhaps suspect that you have a stomach bug, but it’s an arduous journey for you visiting the doctors – why not get yourself some information beforehand?

Miracle Performer?
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I’m afraid not, don’t expect to find the answers to all your health problems here as everyone is different and as I’ve stated previously many illnesses have the same or similar symptoms so a proper diagnosis isn’t going to be given. The information provided to you is purely that – information based on the symptoms you provide. This is NOT an alternative to visiting your GP (no matter how difficult it is to get an appointment) but it should be viewed as the ‘first stop’ if you like – to see if your problems justify wasting both yours and the doctors time with an appointment.

Website (http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk)
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There is a website dedicated to this helpline and has many wonderful features including some background information on the helpline. Further information about specific illnesses and some seasonal top tips for staying healthy, at the moment it’s top tips for water safety. There’s links to other NHS sites, an A – Z Online Health Encyclopaedia as well as a Direct Self Guide (in case you didn’t want to call the helpline)

There is also a small contact sheet where, should your problem not be urgent you can email details of your symptoms / enquiry to them and they respond within 4 days. I have not tried this service, mainly due to the fact that you can only explain your problem in a ridiculously small amount of words and I personally would rather a) speak to a person and b) tell them Everything! The online help guide is a great idea in theory and I personally think it was made deliberately, awkwa
rdly small to ensure that more people utilise the telephone lines – to not only generate as much revenue from the service but to ensure that a higher quality of information is consistently provided!

Fishbulbs Conclusion
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On the whole, I think this is a wonderful service, but it is purely an information service and not a substitute for any proper medical care. I would use this service again, as it is likely to limit the possibility of visiting the doctors unnecessarily and that’s never a bad thing!

Summary: