Health commissioners and East Surrey Hospital work together to tackle busy winter period
Dr Joe McGilligan, local GP and Chair of NHS East Surrey Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), who pay for health services in the region, and Michael Wilson, Chief Executive of the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, who run East Surrey Hospital, are appealing to residents with non life-threatening conditions and minor ailments to get advice first by calling the NHS 111 service.
Local people can get quick healthcare advice on how to deal with illness or injury by dialling 111, when it’s not a 999 emergency. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year and is free from landlines and mobiles. Callers can also get information on local health services and advice on illnesses and injuries.
NHS 111 is free and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for anyone who needs urgent health advice by dialling 1-1-1.
There also are a range of services that patients with less serious conditions can access, including:
- Pharmacies – for advice on common health problems such as coughs, colds, aches and pains, and how to use your medicines
- GPs – for a wide range of health advice and some minor surgery
- Minor Injuries Unit at Caterham Dene Hospital for people aged 18 and over, open from 9am to 8pm, 7 days a week for:
- Cuts and grazes
- Sprains and strains
- Broken bones (fractures)
- Bites and stings
- Infected wounds
- Eye problems, such as infections or scratches
- Sports injuries
- Minor burns and scalds
- Mental health – in times of crisis or distress please call: 0300 456 83 42. There is a SMS texting facility for people who are deaf or hard of hearing: 07717 98 90 24
Care.data
Information about you and the care you receive is shared, in a secure system, by healthcare staff to support your treatment and care.
It is important that the NHS can use this information to plan and improve services for all patients. The NHS would like to link information from all the different places where you receive care, such as your GP, hospital and community service, to help provide a full picture. This will allow the NHS to compare the care you received in one area against the care you received in another, so it can see what has worked best.
Information such as your postcode and NHS number, but not your name, will be used to link your records in a secure system, so your identity is protected. Information which does not reveal your identity can then be used by others, such as researchers and those planning health services, to make sure we provide the best care possible for everyone.
You have a choice. If you are happy for your information to be used in this way you do not have to do anything. If you have any concerns or wish to prevent this from happening, please speak to practice staff or download a copy of the NHS leaflet “How information about you helps us to provide better care”