Thursday 27 July 2017Media release2 minutes to read

Why brave the elements, when you can access health advice from the comfort of home?

If you live in Canterbury – you have options!

• For written health advice about a wide range of common conditions you can check out HealthInfo – Canterbury's go-to site www.healthinfo.org.nz
• You can call your own general practice team 24/7. Dial the usual practice number after-hours and follow the instructions on the answerphone to be put through to a nurse.
  The nurse can offer free health advice – no matter what time of night! If it's urgent and you need to be seen, the nurse can tell you where to go and what to do.
  We call it #carearoundtheclock – see how it works by checking out this video which shows the after-hours triage nurses at work.

But if you do need to see a healthcare professional

• Visit one of the extended-hours urgent medical centres:
  • The 24 Hour Surgery is now at 401 Madras Street  – it's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
  • Moorhouse Medical is open 8am  – 8pm every day.
  • Riccarton Clinic is open 8am – 8pm every day.
• Your pharmacist can also advise on a wide range of products to alleviate symptoms of coughs, colds, sore throats and other common conditions.
• Emergency mental health services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week 0800 920 092.
• If you don't have a regular doctor, search for ‘family doctors' on the Canterbury DHB website to find links to all Canterbury general practice teams.

At this time of year our hospitals are busy providing care for those who are very sick and need specialist hospital care. If you come to ED and it's not an emergency, you could be in for a long wait as those in the greatest need are always seen first.

You can save time and phone for health advice from the comfort of home – call your own general practice team 24/7.  And call sooner rather than later – don't wait for things to get worse before seeking medical advice. It's always better to nip things in the bud rather than waiting until you get so sick that hospital is the only option.

If you haven't already had your influenza immunisation, it's not too late, and it's the best protection available to keep you flu-free this winter. Talk to your general practice team and it's also available at some pharmacies.

ENDS

Tags After-hoursCare around the clockFree advice

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