Health Admin: Doctors, Insurance and Appointments · Lesson 5 of 10 · 12 min

Pharmacy, 111, urgent care, A&E or 999: choosing the right help

When you feel ill and no one is around to decide for you, the hardest part can be knowing where to go. A simple ladder, from pharmacy to emergency, helps you choose quickly and calmly.

Step 1: the pharmacist

The NHS says pharmacists can advise on common illnesses such as coughs, colds, sore throats, ear infections and aches and pains, and answer questions about medicines.
Under Pharmacy First in England, pharmacists can treat some conditions without you seeing a GP or booking an appointment, including sore throat (age 5 and over), sinusitis (12 and over), infected insect bites and impetigo (1 and over), shingles (18 and over) and urinary tract infections in women aged 16 to 64.
The NHS advises contacting the pharmacy before you go to check it offers Pharmacy First.
If a pharmacist cannot help, they will refer you to a GP or other professional.

Step 2: your GP or NHS 111

For problems that are not urgent, book with your GP or student health centre (see the lesson on booking).
NHS 111 is for when you think you need medical help now but cannot reach your GP, including evenings and weekends. Use 111 online, the NHS App or call 111.
111 can tell you where to go (an urgent treatment centre, out-of-hours GP, pharmacist or your own surgery), arrange a nurse callback, help you find an emergency dentist and arrange an emergency supply of a regular medicine.
111 cannot book or cancel your other NHS appointments and cannot issue fit notes; for those, contact your GP.

Step 3: urgent treatment centres

The NHS says urgent treatment centres are for urgent problems that are not life-threatening.
Examples they treat include sprains and strains, suspected broken bones, cuts, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea, skin infections and rashes, and high temperature.
Many can do tests such as X-rays, blood tests and ECGs.
You may be able to book an arrival time through 111 online. People with appointments may be seen first.

Step 4: A&E and 999

The NHS says A&E is for serious injuries and life-threatening emergencies.
Call 999 for life-threatening emergencies such as serious road accidents, strokes and heart attacks.
Do not drive yourself to A&E: get someone to take you or call 999 for an ambulance.
On a 999 call, be ready to give your location (postcode or landmark), what has happened and a contact number. Tell paramedics about any allergies and medicines.
If you are not sure whether you need A&E, the NHS says to use 111 for advice.

The same ladder elsewhere

UAE: the u.ae portal lists 998 for ambulance, 999 for police and 997 for fire. Pharmacies and your insurance network's clinics cover everyday problems, and many hospitals run emergency departments.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai have apps (AD999 and DCAS SOS) that can request help and share your location, according to u.ae.
US: the campus health centre is usually your first stop; many towns also have urgent care clinics, and 911 is the emergency number.
Wherever you live, save the local emergency number, your nearest emergency department and your doctor's out-of-hours number in your phone today.

Practise in real life

Tick each one off when you have done it.

Find your nearest pharmacy, urgent care centre and emergency department where you will live, and save all three in your maps app.
Write a one-page 'where to go' card for your fridge or phone: pharmacy, GP, 111 or local equivalent, urgent care, emergency number.
Practise what you would say on an emergency call: your full address, a landmark and your phone number.

Remember

Start low on the ladder: pharmacist, then GP or 111, then urgent care.
A&E and 999 are for serious injuries and life-threatening emergencies.
Never drive yourself to A&E.
In the UAE, 998 is ambulance and 999 is police.

Note: NHS 111, Pharmacy First and urgent treatment centres are services in England; other UK nations, the UAE and the US organise care differently. The sources fetched did not describe a UAE equivalent of 111, so if in doubt about something serious in the UAE, call 998. The US 911 number is widely known but was not taken from a fetched source in this lesson. This lesson is not medical advice: if you think a life is at risk, call the emergency number.

Check yourself

1. You cannot reach your GP and think you need medical help now, but it is not life-threatening. What does the NHS suggest?

2. Which of these can an urgent treatment centre deal with, according to the NHS?

3. What is the ambulance number in the UAE?

4. Under Pharmacy First in England, which condition can a pharmacist treat in someone aged 19?

5. What does the NHS say about getting to A&E?