Right Care First Time
Immediate action required: When should I call 999?
- Anaphylactic Shock
- Severe Bleeding
- Severe Breathlessness
- Severe Burns
- Suspected Heart Attack
- Acute Chest Pain
- Choking
- Drowning Incident
- Uncontrollable fits
- Hypo (low sugar)
- Hypothermia
- Deep Lacerations
- Suspected Meningitis
- Suspected Stroke
- Unconscious
- Looking Very Poorly
This list is not exhaustive. If in doubt call 999 immediately.
Immediate action required: When should I attend Minor Injuries?
- Bites and Stings
- Burns and Scalds
- Cuts and Grazes
- Eye Problems
- Foreign Bodies in skin
- Minor Head Injuries
- Sprains and Strains
- Road Traffic Accidents
- Minor Wound Infections
This list is not exhaustive.
Immediate action required: When should I attend Accident and Emergency?
- Severe abdominal pain
- Sudden blindness
- Breathlessness, can’t speak
- Suspected Fractures
- Floppy unresponsive baby
- Severe head injury
- Lethargic drowsy child
- Drug Overdose
- Swallowed Foreign Body
This list is not exhaustive. If in doubt call 999 immediately.
Non-urgent advice: I'm already under a District Nurses care:
If you are already under the care of a District Nurse, they can help you with a wide range of issues/symptoms.
The list below is not exhaustive and they may see you for a wider range of issues:
- assessment
- dressings and wound care
- leg ulcerations and tissue viability (including aftercare of surgical wounds)
- continence assessment
- catheter care
- Phlebotomy - services will be provided to all patients who are both housebound and on the current district nurse caseload.
- stoma care
- medication and prescribing
- administration of medicines
- central venous access devices and IV therapy
- safeguarding
Available at:
Website: www.bhamcommunity.nhs.uk/community-nursing-service/
Telephone: 0300 555 1919
Non-urgent advice: I'm already under the care of a School Nurse:
If you are already under the care of a School Nurse, they can help you with a wide range of issues/symptoms.
The list below is not exhaustive and they may see you for a wider range of issues:
- Bedwetting
- Behaviour issues
- Bullying
- Developmental Screening
- Drug Advice
- General Support
- Health Education
- Immunisations
- Safeguarding
- Safe Sex Education
- Signposting
- Stop Smoking Advice
Non-urgent advice: I'm already under the care of a Midwife:
If you are already under the care of a Midwife , they can help you with a wide range of issues/symptoms.
The list below is not exhaustive and they may see you for a wider range of issues:
-
Advising on normal antenatal care
-
Pregnancy Advice
-
Postnatal Care
Available at:
Website: www.uhb.nhs.uk/services/maternity
Telephone: 0121 424 2000 – UHB Switchboard
Non-urgent advice: I'm already under a Health Visitors care:
If you are already under the care of a Health Visitor, they can help you with a wide range of issues/symptoms.
The list below is not exhaustive and they may see you for a wider range of issues:
- Abuse Concerns
- Baby Colic
- Behaviour Issues
- Breast/Bottle Feeding Advice
- Constipation
- Feeding and Weaning Advice
- Health Eating
- Hearing/Speech issues
- Normal Development
- Poor/Faltering Growth
- Postnatal Blues
- Preschool Issues
- Support at Home
Available at:
Website: www.Bhamcommunity.nhs.uk/health-visiting
Telephone: 0121 465 5730
Non-urgent advice: When should i self care?
The following conditions should be managed at home with over the counter remedies for 7 days prior to speaking to a GP.
If you are concerned please speak to a pharmacist.
- Catarrh
- Chickenpox
- Conjunctivitis
- Coughs and Colds
- Diarrhoea and Vomiting
- Earache
- Flu
- Food Poisoning
- Gastroenteritis
- Hangovers
- Itching
- Minor Grazes and Injuries
- Nose Bleeds (stopped)
- Obesity
- Sunburn
- Viral Illness
- Sore Throat
- Thrush
- Urine Infection
- Vaginal Discharge
Non-urgent advice: When should i see a Dentist?
GPs are unable to assist with Dental Concerns.
If you do not have an NHS Dentist or access to a Private Dentist please contact NHS 111.
-
Dental Abscess / Infections
-
Gum Problems
-
Tooth Decay / Cavities
-
Toothache
- Dental Prescriptions
Non-urgent advice: When should i see a Pharmacist?
The Pharmacy can help with a wide range of issues such as:
- Urinary Tract Infections - available to female patients aged 16 to 64
- Suspected Shingles - available to patients aged 18 and over
- Impetigo - available to patients aged 1 years and over
- Sore Throats - available to patients aged 5 and over
- Sinusitis - available to patients aged 12 and over
- Otitis Media - available to patients aged 1 to 17.
You can attend any local pharmacy without the need to be referred by your GP. However, if you are unsure we can arrange this pharmacy assistance for you.
For more information visit: NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service - The Dove Surgery
Non-urgent advice: When should i contact social services?
- Abuse Concerns
- Aids for the home
- Benefits Help
- Domestic Violence
- Respite Care
- Safeguarding Issues
- Social Issues
- Welfare Rights
Available at:
Website: www.birmingham.gov.uk
Telephone: 0121 303 1234
Urgent advice: When should i book with a Practice Nurse?
General practice nurses are undertaking a wider range of roles. GPNs provide care and treatment for people from birth to end of life. They help dozens of patients every day. As a registered nurse they can do all sorts, from baby immunisations to helping people with diabetes and asthma. They can inspect any rashes you're worried about, talk to you about contraception.
- Dressings
- Prostap Injection
- Zoladex Injections
- Pill Reviews
- Starting the contraceptive pill
- Smears
- Coil Checks
- Diabetic Reviews
- Childhood Immunisations
- Travel Immunisations
- Whooping Cough Injections
- Depo-Provera Injections
- Asthma Reviews
- COPD Reviews
This list is not exhaustive and you may be contacted for a variety of other reasons by this clinician.
Urgent advice: When should i book in with a Health Care Assistant?
HCAs take on routine tasks that were previously undertaken by practice nurses like administering vaccines to patients, taking blood samples and taking measurements such as temperatures, respiration and pulse rates. They are an important part of the practice that have significantly reduced patient waiting times.
- Blood Pressure Check
- ECGs
- B12 Injections
- Blood Tests
- Lifestyle Advice
- NHS Health Check
- Diabetic Reviews
- Dressings
- New Patient Checks
- Learning Disabilities Review
- SMI Review
This list is not exhaustive and you may be contacted for a variety of other reasons by this clinician.
Urgent advice: When should i book in with a Practice Pharmacist?
A clinical pharmacist helps patients to understand and get the most out of their medicines. They often also help with lifestyle changes to tackle long-term conditions, order blood tests where necessary and often advise patients who have just come out of hospital and need help with their new medications. Being part of the team here means our patients have an expert they can talk to pretty quickly when they need to.
- Concerns over prescriptions
- Concerns over side effects
- Hospital Discharges – Changes in medications
- Medication Reviews
This list is not exhaustive and you may be contacted for a variety of other reasons by this clinician.
Urgent advice: When should i book in with a Paramedic or ANPs?
A paramedic can deal with lots of different types of illness and injury. They have completed an extra postgraduate training so they can help even more patients. They do quite a few home visits and help to assess patients on the phone, so can help people get the right care as quickly as possible.
- Abdominal Pain
- Breathlessness
- Chest Infection
- Ear Symptoms – Pain, Infections
- Pain – General, Foot, Back, Shoulder
- Ongoing Sickness and Diarrhoea
- Rash
This list is not exhaustive and you may be contacted for a variety of other reasons by this clinician.
Urgent advice: When should i book in with a General Practitioner?
It would be extremely difficult to create a list of symptoms a GP sees from day to day.
If you do not fit into any other categories to be seen, Contact us via AccuRx