Be winter ready - know where to go when you’re ill

The HSE Community Healthcare Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo is reminding people to be ‘winter ready’ and to know where to go to access the healthcare which best suits their needs.

The health service is here for you this winter from routine appointments to urgent care. Visit www.hse.ie/winter. It contains lots of health information and advice from the HSE, including tips for eating well, exercise and physical activity, and minding your mental health over the coming months.

Prevention

Prevention is always better than the cure. We know that it is better to ward off future illnesses and complications from existing conditions than deal with them when they have happened.  There’s plenty that you can do to keep well, protect your health and mind yourself and your loved ones. It’s good to prepare a checklist for wellness this winter:

·         Register with a GP

·         Know your urgent GP out of hours arrangements and contact

·         Get vaccinated

·         Understand your medicines and ensure you have what you need in the holiday period

·         The best advice with regard to injuries this winter is to avoid them if possible. If it is cold and icy, stay indoors

·         Understand your symptoms and keep well, visit www.undertheweather.ie

·         Avoid people with any obvious symptoms

Be prepared - Know where to go

Despite our best efforts, some of us undoubtedly will become ill over the winter time. There are a number of treatment options open to you depending on your illness – being prepared and knowing where to go will mean that you will get treated more quickly and will ease pressures on the healthcare system.

Here is a list of care and treatment options:

·         Visit your local pharmacy for treating the common cold

·         See your family doctor for all non-urgent illness

·         The GP out of hours service is a high quality clinical service for urgent care. Know the Christmas opening arrangements

·         Emergency Departments treat seriously ill patients. Those with less severe injuries and symptoms may have to wait to be seen in Emergency Departments.

NoWDOC - Urgent Out of Hours GP Service

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 

The NoWDOC Service provides urgent out of hours GP care when your own surgery is closed in the evening and advises people not to call for routine matters that can wait until your GP surgery is open.

NoWDOC is an urgent service, it is not a routine replacement for your own daytime GP. If patients have routine issues, they should make an appointment with their own daytime GP who is best placed to manage their long-term health. However, patients with urgent medical concerns that arise when their own GP surgery is closed should contact NoWDOC on 0818 400 911.  In the event of an emergency or if your situation deteriorates, you should contact the emergency services immediately on 112 or 999.

The NoWDOC service is not a walk-in service. It is by appointment only for those who are seriously unwell. Patients should check the opening times of their own GP surgery.

NoWDOC’s arrangements for the New Year period is as follows:

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