Ring 111 before going to A&E

Last Saturday, I started having spasms of pain to the right of my belly button.  It was horrible and my husband rang 111 to find out what he could do for me. After going through my symptoms, I was given an appointment for the After Hours GP at the hospital instead of A&E.  At our hospital, After Hours is located right next to A&E, so we looked inside and saw the waiting area absolutely packed with people.  Walked into the empty After Hours and I was seen and diagnosed within 20 minutes with a urine infection and handed a prescription to go on my way.  If we hadn't rang 111 first, we would have been stuck in A&E for goodness knows how long!

Thanks for the info! 

I had no idea about 111, but I have found that NHS direct will do the same thing, they basically make an appointment for you in the A&E. I hope you are feeling better!

I had no idea about 111, but I have found that NHS direct will do the same thing, they basically make an appointment for you in the A&E. I hope you are feeling better!

111 is a new number that you can call instead of NHS Direct if you need medical help but it's not as urgent as 999.

It's a service that is only currently available in certain areas of the UK though (according to the website: Luton, County Durham and Darlington, Lincolnshire, Nottingham City, the Isle of Wight, parts of Derbyshire (the Bakewell, Bolsover, Chesterfield and Matlock areas) and Lancashire (excluding West Lancashire)).

See: http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/Emergencyandurgentcareservices/Pages/NHS-111.aspx

Ah,  I wasn't sure when it was rolling out to the rest of the country. I know we (Lincolnshire) were one of the test counties.

So, if you don't have 111 yet, ring NHS Direct. Sometimes, you don't need A&E for what you think is an emergency!