Where to find help over the holidays

Need medical assistance during the Christmas period? Help is always at hand...

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Many things have changed in my time as a GP, but one thing that has remained constant is the understandable worry patients often have about being ill when their GP practice is closed. This is notable in the last-minute panic for prescriptions every Friday afternoon and any day prior to a bank holiday.

Most areas will have an out-of-hours GP service. This can be found by a quick search online or is often on the answerphone of your own GP surgery. The service is for any urgent GP medical conditions that cannot wait until your surgery reopens, such as a sick child or a raging urine infection. They may not have access to your existing GP records, so if you can it’s better to leave any chronic conditions to your own GP, unless you are suddenly worse.