Call from Salisbury District Hospital to help ease winter pressures
The hospital is caring for more people than at this point last year
Salisbury District Hospital is urging us to make use of all available NHS services over the Christmas period.
The call comes as the hospital has cared for a greater number of people in the early winter weeks than last year - with numbers up by about 10%.
Divisional Manager for Urgent and Emergency Medicine at Salisbury District Hopsital, Ben Oakleigh, said people need to remember how large the NHS is and the abundance of options available to us.
"When you're looking at what, what can people do to to avoid hospital, a lot of that is actually thinking, do I need to be at a hospital, can I be treated elsewhere? You know, the hospital's always that thing that comes first to your mind. But there are so many options of different areas that you can go now," he said.
He advises us to use NHS 111, with staff there able to then tell us where to find appropriate healthcare, while we can still use a GP.
But Ben told us there's always one option that tends to go forgotten about: "The one that everyone always forgets about is your pharmacist. You would be surprised about how much a pharmacist can actually help. We think they just dispense drugs, but actually they can give advice for things," he said.
As well as dispensing medication, pharmacists can prescribe medicine and carry out short consultations.
He's also encouraging us to the City's walk-in centre on Avon Approach, near Central Car Park, insisting we will be seen quicker for our issues there than at A&E.
"I can tell you hand on heart you will be seen quicker at the walk in centre than you will if you come to if you come to A&E, as much as we would love to see you quickly you might end up waiting four, five, six hours.
"And the less urgent you are the longer often you'll have to wait."