Sick should check symptoms online rather than calling 111, top doctor says

THE sick should check symptoms online rather than calling the swamped 111 phone line, a leading doctor has said. 

Those with minor complaints can find most of the information they need on the NHS service’s website, according to Dr Sir Frank Atherton, the Welsh Chief Medical Officer.

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He said that call centres were being overwhelmed because of  the flu and Covid twindemic. 

Dr Sir Frank told the BBC: “What we are advising people to do is go to the website first — the 111 website — where they can access a lot of information that can steer them in the best way to manage their condition.”

His plea comes as doctors are warning that this winter will be the worst on record for waiting times in A&E departments.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine president Dr Adrian Boyle warned: “The gallows joke about this is now that 24 hours in A&E is not a documentary, it’s a way of life.

“These long delays are harmful for people — they are sick and need hospital but are waiting in the corridor of an emergency department. It’s undignified and it’s dangerous.”

Senior doctors are also urging  the sick to consider carefully whether they need emergency care before heading to A&E.

Several NHS trusts have already declared critical incidents as their services come under unprecedented pressure.