Record number of hits for NHS Wales website after unprecedented year
ONLINE symptom checkers can save North Wales patients time by helping them find the right service for treatment.
Symptoms can be quickly checked for a variety of conditions and advice given on the best way to treat them by visiting www.111.wales.nhs.uk, hosted by the Welsh Ambulance Service.
The way we access the NHS has changed as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with more options now becoming common, including NHS 111 Wales online, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It can be used for both health information and advice and to access urgent primary care in Welsh and English.
In a recent YouGov survey – as part of the Welsh Government’s Help Us, Help You campaign – it was revealed that less than a third (32%) of people in North Wales had heard of the service.
Despite this, 80% of those questioned in the region felt it was ‘important’ to have access to the online platform.
Iwan Griffiths, Clinical Operations Manager for the NHS 111 Wales service in North Wales, said: “The NHS 111 Wales website should be your first port of call when you’re ill or injured and are unsure what to do.
“The directory of services and symptom checkers in particular are an excellent resource for those with common complaints and conditions and who need some advice and guidance about what to do next.
“We had a record number of visits to the website in 2020 which proves how much of an appetite there is for health advice and information, especially in the current climate, and we’re pleased to be able to offer this service.
“If we can help patients with a less serious illness or injury online, then we’re preventing calls to 999 which may not always be appropriate.”
NHS 111 Wales online can help if you have an urgent medical problem and are not sure what to do.
For those in North Wales who do not feel confident using the online service, call NHS Direct Wales on 0845 46 47, or 111 if your query is related to COVID-19.
Please use the hashtags #HelpuNiHelpuChi and #HelpUsHelpYou to support the Help Us, Help You campaign.