Your local services

Many everyday illnesses and injuries such as colds, sore throats, sprains and strains, diarrhoea and sickness bugs can be treated at home. The NHS website provides lots of advice on conditions, symptoms, treating illnesses and injuries as well as when to seek further support. Visit the health A – Z section at www.nhs.uk.

Treating illness and injuries at home
Keeping essential medicines at home, such as painkillers, upset stomach relievers, antihistamines, plasters and bandages will help you be prepared to look after yourself and your loved if you do need to treat any injury or illness. The NHS website has a really useful guide to what to keep in your medicine and first aid kit at home. Remember to keep any medicine in a safe place and well out of the reach of children and check medicines regularly to make sure they are within their use by dates.

Your local pharmacy team can provide expert advice about over-the-counter medicines to treat many common health conditions, such as colds, aches and pains and tummy troubles, as well as advice on medication and services such as healthy living support.

Pharmacists are also trained to advise whether you need to see a GP, nurse or other healthcare professional if it is something more serious to ensure you get the help you need, and can also provide health and wellbeing advice.

Many pharmacies are open in the evening and on weekends and have a private consultation room where you can speak to a pharmacist. To find a local pharmacy click here. For more information on how your pharmacy can help you, click here.

If you need urgent medical help but it is not a life-threatening emergency, call 111 first or visit 111.nhs.uk where a trained advisor will direct you to the most appropriate service for your needs. This could be:

If you are advised to attend an Emergency Department (ED) for urgent care but it is not life-threatening emergency, your 111 advisor can book you a time slot to attend. Contacting 111 first helps to maintain social distancing in EDs, helping to keep you safe, and ensures you receive the right care, in the right place, in a more timely way.

Across Hampshire, Southampton and the Isle of Wight our Emergency Departments are located at:

For information on the NHS 111 British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter service click here.

You can also call 18001 111 on a textphone.

If you need an interpreter, this can be arranged when you contact NHS 111.

Find out more about the NHS 111 service and other ways you can contact 111 if you need additional support.

Urgent Treatment Centres and Minor Injuries Units are available across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and can help with expert advice and treatment for injuries and illnesses that need urgent medical attention but aren’t life threatening.

These services are led by experienced clinicians including highly skilled Nurse Practitioners, Paramedics, GPs and other health professionals who can offer treatment, advice and information. Many services also have on-site x-ray facilities.

Waiting times can be shorter than at Emergency Departments and the team can also refer or direct you to the most appropriate service for you if needed, supporting you to access the right care in the right place, in a timely way.

Urgent Treatment Centres and Minor Injuries Units can help with a number of conditions including:

Find an Urgent Treatment Centre or Minor Injuries Unit near you:

You can also find urgent care services near you by entering your postcode on the NHS website.

If you are registered with a dentist you will be offered regular check-ups and can also seek advice for dental problems and pain. Visit https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists to find out more about dental services, how to register with a dentist near you and how much treatment costs.

Dental services are commissioned by NHS England.

Need urgent dental advice?
For urgent dental treatment or advice please contact your usual dental practice in the first instance. Alternatively visit the NHS 111 service online or call 111 which can put you in touch with an urgent dental service.

Having regular eye tests are an important check of your vision and also the health of your eyes.

Visit https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/opticians to find out more about opticians, eye tests and how to find an optician near you. Optician services are commissioned by NHS England.

Emergency Departments (EDs) at hospitals are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for serious and life-threatening conditions. If you or someone you know is experiencing a medical emergency you/they should call 999 or visit the nearest Emergency Department.

Medical emergencies include:

Call 999 immediately if you or someone else is having a heart attack or stroke. Every second counts with these conditions.

Also call 999 if you think someone has had a major trauma, such as after a serious road traffic accident, a stabbing, a shooting, a fall from height, or a serious head injury.

If you need urgent medical help but it is not a life-threatening emergency, call 111 first or visit 111.nhs.uk where a trained advisor will direct you to the most appropriate service for your needs. This could be:

If you are advised to attend an Emergency Department (ED) for urgent care but it is not life-threatening emergency, your 111 advisor can book you a time slot to attend. Contacting 111 first helps to maintain social distancing in EDs and ensures you receive the right care, in the right place, in a more timely way.

Across Hampshire, Southampton and the Isle of Wight our Emergency Departments are located at:

Looking after your mental health is just as important as physical health, and often the two can be linked, so we are committed to ensuring we have the right services in place to support all of our communities. Your NHS and our partner organisations are all here for you, so please do reach out if you need support.

If you feel you may need some support with your wellbeing but aren’t really sure where to start, the NHS Every Mind Matters website has really useful resources and you can generate a personalised plan by answering a few questions about how you’ve been feeling. Visit https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters to find out more.

Mental health services across Hampshire, Southampton and the Isle of Wight are provided by a variety of organisations, including Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Solent NHS Trust, Isle of Wight NHS Trust, Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust, local charities and councils. These services are provided in a variety of ways including care in the in the community, at specialist facilities or in your own home.

If you would like support for your mental health, your GP is there to listen and can help find the right services and support for you.

You can also refer yourself to your local NHS psychological therapies service (also known as IAPT services) without speaking to your GP, or your GP can refer you. Local IAPT teams are experts in supporting common mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, stress and panic. You can often refer yourself online or over the phone. Find your local service and how to refer here.

Mental health and wellbeing services to support children and young people are often referred to as Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

Local services are made up of specialist teams offering assessment and treatment to children and young people up to age 18 who have emotional, behavioural or mental health problems. Services can be provided by the NHS, local authorities, community and voluntary organisations or within schools. Local NHS providers include Isle of Wight NHS Trust, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Solent NHS Trust.

Little Blue Book of Sunshine
The Little Blue Book of Sunshine- Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight Edition is a mental health booklet that has been developed for children and young people in Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight.

The book aims to help children and young people by sharing tips on how to deal with many problems, such as anxiety, body image, relationships and anger. It also includes information about a number of national and local resources.

Now more than ever, anyone can sometimes feel down, worried or anxious because of situations like coronavirus, school, family or friends. The 'Little Blue Book of Sunshine' explains some of the things young people can do right now to feel better, and where to turn to if things feel too much.

The booklet is available in Apple Books and Google Play Books. You can also download the booklet here.

Free listening services offer confidential advice from trained volunteers:

If you need help for a mental health crisis or emergency, support is available and you should get immediate expert advice and assessment.

The crisis may be a sudden deterioration of an existing mental health problem, or you may be experiencing mental health problems for the first time.

To find a local urgent mental health helpline click here.

If you’ve already been given a Crisis Line number from a health professional, call it. Or, if you are under the care of a mental health team and have a specific care plan that states who to contact when you need urgent care, you should follow this plan.

If you, or someone else, require urgent care but it is not life-threatening, you should make an emergency GP appointment or contact NHS 111 if your GP practice is closed. For example, this could be:

Emergency Departments (EDs) at hospitals are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for serious and life-threatening conditions. A mental health emergency should be taken as seriously as a physical emergency. If you do not feel you can keep yourself or someone else safe, or if someone’s life is at risk – for example, they have injured themselves or taken an overdose, call 999 or visit your nearest Emergency Department.

Community health services provide a wide range of support delivered close to home and, where necessary, at home. The aim of these services is to:

The main providers of community health services across Hampshire, Southampton and the Isle of Wight are Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Solent NHS Trust, Isle of Wight NHS Trust and local councils.

If your GP feels you need specialist assessment, investigations or treatment, they may refer you to a hospital to be seen by an appropriate specialist.

If you need to go to hospital to see a specialist, you have the right to choose which hospital you receive treatment from.

You can choose a hospital according to what matters most to you, whether it’s location, waiting times, reputation, clinical performance, visiting policies, parking facilities or patients’ comments.

A choice of hospital is available for most patients and in most circumstances. Exceptions include emergency and urgent services, cancer, maternity and mental health services. If you need to be seen urgently by a specialist your GP will send you where you’ll be seen most quickly.

If you are having difficulty choosing a suitable hospital and would prefer not to make the decision yourself, your GP can recommend or choose for you.

Find out more about referrals for specialist care and choosing where you receive treatment.

In Hampshire, Southampton and the Isle of Wight most learning disability services are provided by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust and Isle of Wight NHS Trust – their websites have lots of information about health and where you can find support near you.

Mencap also has lots of information and can help you find support: www.mencap.org.uk/advice-and-support.

Easy Health is a website full of information about health. Visit the Easy Health website at www.easyhealth.org.uk.

If you are aged over 14 years old and have a learning disability, having an annual health check with your doctor or a nurse will help to keep you healthy.

For further information about the annual health check and what is involved, Mencap and the NHS website have useful information online.

If you care for someone with a learning disability, they can get extra support when visiting their doctor – all you, or they, have to do is ask for their name to be added to the GP learning disability register. You can help them do this by talking to their doctor’s surgery or use this template letter. Complete this letter and give it to the doctor during their next appointment.

Once on the register they can speak to their doctor about having a free annual health check every year. The annual health check is completed by a health professional at the patients GP practice and involves assessing, monitoring and treating any existing health conditions as well as detecting any undiagnosed health conditions.

There are lots of reasons why they should have their annual health check if their doctor says they can have one, including:

Another way you can ensure they are getting the very best healthcare is by supporting them to give their doctor consent for their information to be shared. With the individuals permission, or in some cases the carer or family members permission, the doctor can add additional information to the individuals Summary Care Record (SCR).

Everyone has a SCR – speak to the doctor about the individual giving consent for Additional Information to be stored. his can include details of their learning disability, any physical/sensory disability, communication needs, contact details of a carer or next of kin. This allows all health professionals who care for them to know their latest needs and requirements.

Find out more about the learning disability register on the Mencap website.

Non-emergency patient transport is provided by South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS).

This is a non-emergency service for patients who are unable to use public or other transport due to their condition. It includes those who are:

The former North Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group – how part of Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight CCG – has worked in partnership with the North Hampshire Alliance to deliver the Enhanced Health in Care Homes Project, to improve the support offered to care home residents.

The main aim of the project is to ensure that each resident receives the right care, in the right place, and at the right time - as is appropriate to their needs and wants as an individual.

Five of Basingstoke’s care homes were selected to pilot the scheme, which involves having a dedicated GP working in a team with other healthcare professionals. Through regular meetings and a more joined-up approach, they create bespoke healthcare plans for the residents - increasing their wellbeing and peace of mind.

Each care home’s dedicated team includes:

The team holds a review meeting within the care home once or twice a week to discuss the residents’ individual progress.
We have worked with GPs and other healthcare professionals to ensure that the project is sustainable and beneficial for them too. You can find out more about the project from a GP’s perspective here.

Residents and their families, or nominated individuals, are invited to participate fully in discussions at the review meeting; giving them the opportunity to express their wishes or concerns. In addition to addressing anything the resident may be worried about, subjects that are regularly discussed in the review meetings include:

It can also provide the opportunity for them to have a discussion with their loved ones about their end of life wishes.

The Enhanced Care Project is designed to engage GPs and care homes to support improvements for residents.

The impact of this project on the health and well-being, care and quality for residents is continually evaluated to measure its effectiveness.

“The residents can see a difference already and we can see a difference too, the support is superb” - Sue Burton, Support Manager at Pemberley House Care Home

If you or your relative have had the opportunity to participate in a review meeting, we would welcome your feedback and comments.

Contact Beverley George, Enhanced Care Practitioner, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..