Tag: NHS 24

Look out for carers this Festive season

NHS 24 is calling on people to look out for carers during the busy festive season

There are currently around 760,000 carers in Scotland and winter can be a difficult time for those who look after others, from dealing with reduced services to managing tight budgets and family tensions.

Now, the Telehealth and Telecare organisation is calling on people to make sure carers get all the support they need this Christmas and New Year.

Lynne Huckerby, NHS 24’s Head of Health Information said: “Caring for someone is a difficult job at any time of the year, but winter places extra demands on those who do the dedicated job of looking after others.

“It’s important that people do their bit and look out for carers and help them all they can. After all, a problem shared is a problem halved.

“Carers or those being cared for might also find the Care Information Scotland website helpful. It has a whole host of useful information from respite care to how to receive a care needs assessment, to information about care homes.  It provides signposting information on a range of caring topics, allowing carers to make informed decisions.

“Our personalisation tool ‘Info for Me’ allows people to select relevant content which can be shared, saved or printed, and our translation facility which enables increased access.

“This service will be a useful for a whole range of carer groups from young carers, to those within the care system and those anticipating care and are seeking further information . Our service can be accessed from 8 am to 10 pm, 7 days a week via webchat available through the website or via telephone on 0800 83 85 87.”

Further advice and information on how to stay healthy over winter can be found at www.nhsinform.scot/winter

The three things that Dr Owl is recommending everyone do in preparation for their health this winter:

  • Make sure you have some over the counter remedies in the house for minor ailments
  • Check you have enough repeat prescription medicines – order only what you need and make sure you pick them up in plenty of time
  • Know when your GP surgery and local community pharmacy will be open.

Make sure your dinner’s not a ‘turkey’ this Christmas

With families across Scotland preparing for their annual Christmas feast – NHS 24 is reminding people to be vigilant about food safety. The call comes as the Telehealth and Telecare organisation run their annual Be Health-Wise This Winter campaign. Continue reading Make sure your dinner’s not a ‘turkey’ this Christmas

Make sure food safety’s at the top of your Christmas list

Don’t be a turkey when it comes to food safety this Christmas

healthwise

NHS 24 is reminding people to be vigilant about food safety this Christmas.The call comes as part of NHS Scotland’s Be #Healthwise This Winter campaign which aims to help people protect their friends and family from illness over the festive and winter period. Continue reading Make sure food safety’s at the top of your Christmas list

Waiting time info now available at NHS inform

RIEd

PEOPLE seeking information about waiting times in Scotland can now access this via Scotland’s national health information service,  NHS inform. Queries can be directed to the national health information service on 0800 22 44 88.

The extension of the NHS inform service builds on the ‘Your Health, Your Rights‘ resource at www.nhsinform.co.uk/rights which brings together information for the public about their health rights, access to health care and national waiting times.

Developed by NHS 24 in partnership with the Scottish Government, the zone was launched in 2013 with the aim of making it easier for patients to access the information relevant to them in one place.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “Patients have an entitlement to be treated as quickly as possible but also at a time that fits in with their lives. The helpline provided through NHS inform will continue to give patients a single point of contact to find out more about their rights and how long they can expect to wait for treatment.

“Waiting times continue to be amongst their lowest ever levels in Scotland, and we want to make sure that patients know what they are entitled to. This information line will also help ensure that waiting times are open, transparent, and that patients receive help and support if they need it.”

NHS 24 Head of Health Information Services Lynne Huckerby added: “Our health information team are trained to answer health information queries on a wide variety of subjects from people throughout Scotland. By contacting NHS inform, people are accessing reliable health information from a trusted source.

“Directing their waiting times queries to the NHS inform phoneline will make it easier for people to access clear and accurate information on their rights and responsibilities. It allows people to access all the health information they need from a single trusted source.”

For more information, visit www.nhsinform.co.uk/rights

The NHS inform helpline is available on 0800 22 44 88, 8am to 10pm, seven days a week.