Out of hours and emergencies
If there is difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, loss of consciousness, a serious injury, or any situation where somebody may be in danger, call your local emergency services immediately. Do not wait for us, and do not travel here first unless we have told you to.
Reaching us#
Fill this in: your telephone number, the hours it is answered, and what happens outside them — a recorded message, a redirect, an out-of-hours service, another practice. Name the out-of-hours provider explicitly; a recorded message that says to seek advice elsewhere helps nobody at midnight.
| When | Contact | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Opening hours | Fill this in | Fill this in |
| Evenings | Fill this in | Fill this in |
| Weekends | Fill this in | Fill this in |
| Public holidays | Fill this in | Fill this in |
What counts as urgent#
Fill this in: the situations that warrant contacting somebody immediately, in the patient's language rather than in clinical terms. Then list what can safely wait until the next working day, because that list is just as useful and far less often written.
While you wait#
Fill this in: the safe, simple things that help before being seen — position, pressure, cold, keeping something, bringing something with you. Keep every instruction to one that cannot make things worse if it is misapplied.
Do not take somebody else's prescribed medicine, and do not double a dose of your own to get through the night. If pain is not controlled by what you have been told to take, that is a reason to contact somebody, not a reason to take more.
Coming in as an emergency#
Fill this in: whether you keep emergency slots, how a patient gets one, and how long they may have to wait. Say honestly whether an emergency appointment addresses the immediate problem only, with definitive treatment booked afterwards.
If you are not sure#
Call. Describe what is happening in ordinary words and let whoever answers decide how urgent it is. Deciding for yourself at two in the morning, alone, is the worst available option.