Using NHS 111 for urgent medical help

NHS 111 can help if you need urgent medical help but you are not sure where to go.

They can direct you to the best place to get help if you cannot contact your GP during the day, or when your GP is closed (out-of-hours).

You can get help from NHS 111 when you are hurt or ill and it is not an emergency:

• by calling 111
• by visiting 111.nhs.uk
• by using the NHS App.

You can contact NHS 111 any day, at any time.

Contacting NHS 111 is free, but you may need to pay for some things like prescriptions or dental treatment if you usually do.

In an emergency, you should call 999 or go to Accident and Emergency (A&E).

An emergency is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.

You can contact NHS 111 by phone, online or via the NHS App.

You will be asked some questions about what is wrong.

Whichever way you contact NHS 111 you will be given help and advice about what to do next.

This could be telling you how to look after yourself at home or arranging for you to get medical help.

Depending on what help you need, NHS 111 will tell you to:

• go to Accident and Emergency (A&E), or put you through to 999 if it is an emergency

• go to an urgent treatment centre

• make an appointment with your own GP

• go to see an out-of-hours GP if it is the evening, weekend or a bank holiday

• wait for a nurse, doctor or paramedic to call you back

• go to an emergency dentist

• get urgent support for your mental health

• go to a pharmacy for some help or medicine

• look after yourself safely at home.

When you contact NHS 111, you can tell the person you talk to if you have a learning disability or you are autistic.

You can ask for them to make changes for you, like asking them to:

• speak slower

• use easier words.

If you need help to contact NHS 111, you could ask someone you trust, like someone in your family or your support worker .

You can find out more about NHS 111 on this website : www.nhs.uk/111

The website also has information about how to use NHS 111 by text relay if you are deaf or use British Sign Language (BSL).

You can also tell NHS 111 if you need to speak to someone in another language.

Remember, you can contact NHS 111 any day, at any time.