NoWDOC ask for patience ahead of New Year Bank Holiday weekend

The HSE wish to advise that NoWDOC GP Out of Hours Service is asking people to be patient ahead of the New Year Bank Holiday weekend. The service experienced a high volume of calls over the Christmas period and are predicting a high volume of calls again this weekend.

Urgent calls are prioritised and are dealt with first. The service is asking for your patience in the event of longer wait times.

The service is designed to provide urgent GP care to patients and is not a substitute for the Emergency Ambulance Service, who are the appropriate service to deal with medical emergencies where they arise.

NoWDOC provides urgent out-of-hours GP care for patients of participating practices in Co Donegal and South Leitrim.  The service can be contacted by calling 0818 400 911 

NoWDOC’s arrangements for the New Year Bank Holiday weekend are:

·       From 6pm Friday 30th December to 8am Tuesday 3rd January 2023

NoWDOC is not a replacement for the Emergency Services. For emergencies call 999 or 112 

GP out-of-hours (OOH) services across the country are experiencing unprecedented levels of patient activity as a result of persistent levels of raised respiratory infections in the community.

It is predicted that the weeks ahead will be extremely busy and all efforts are being made, however please expect to wait in a queue to have your call managed during our peak times.

The GP out-of-hours service is for patients needing Urgent medical care. Where symptoms are mild, patients should access the HSE - Under The Weather website for helpful self-care advice and attend their pharmacy for over the counter medication as appropriate.

The GP out-of-hours service appreciates your patience and co-operation in this regard over the New Year period and the weeks ahead, until this period of unprecedented high demand returns to normal winter activity levels.