Out of Hours Emergencies
When the practice is closed, there is an out of hours emergency medical service available at all times. If you need out of hours help, you should telephone 111 which is a free-phone number nationwide. Trained staff located at the call control centre will handle your enquiry.
On dialling 111 a team of fully trained advisers and experienced nurses will assess your condition and direct you to the local service that can help you best, when you need it. That could be your GP surgery, an out of hours GP, A&E, a local urgent care centre, emergency dentist or a late opening pharmacist. The 111 service is in operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Remember the Out of Hours Service is for urgent problems only. Please do not contact the service for a second opinion or for anything which can wait until the next working day.
Between 6:00pm and 10:00pm Monday to Friday and 9:00am to 3:00pm Saturday and Sunday, although the surgery is closed, please contact the practice number as normal and you will be transferred to GP Care Wakefield. In order to obtain medical advice outside of these times please call the 111 (your call will be recorded).
A receptionist in the emergency call centre will answer your call. They will either:
- Arrange for you to speak to a doctor or nurse.
- Invite you to attend the out of hours centre to be seen by the doctor.
- Arrange a home visit if you are too ill to visit the centre.
The Out of Hours services for GP Care Wakefield are situated at: Trinity Medical Centre, Thornhill Street, Wakefield, WF1 1PG and Ossett Health Village, Kingsway Ossett, WF8 8DF
If you have a minor ailment you could visit your local pharmacy who will be able to provide you with some help or signpost you onto the next available service.
In a genuine emergency you should call 999. Chest pains and / or shortness of breath constitute an emergency.
NHS 111 BSL
The NHS 111 service is available for deaf people to contact 111 medical staff. Fully qualified and experienced interpreters. This is for use when:
- You need help quickly, but it is NOT an emergency;
- You think you might need to go to A&E but are not in imminent danger
- You don’t know who to contact, or your GP is not available;
- You need health information or advice on what to do next.
How To Make Contact
Go to Interpreter Now – NHS 111. Click on Connect – a BSL interpreter will appear on your screen.
Making contact in BSL is easy. You can do it from any computer, and almost all tablets and mobile phones.
Mental Health Crisis?
You should call 999 or go to A&E if you, or someone you know, experiences a life-threatening medical or mental health emergency. These are cases where there is immediate danger to life or physical injury. A mental health emergency should be taken as seriously as a medical emergency. If you feel like you may be close to acting on suicidal thoughts or have seriously harmed yourself, you should call 999 or go to A&E directly if you need immediate help and are worried about your safety.