Are you ready for Christmas and the New Year?
A successful festive break doesn’t happen by chance – there’s a lot of planning involved.
From food and present shopping to transport and accommodation, it all needs to be thought through in advance.
In the midst of all of it, many people forget to factor in their own health needs.
If you rely on regular repeat prescription medication, you have to ensure you’ve got yours sorted early, so you’ve got the stocks you need. The same applies to checking your medicine cabinet, or your first aid kit. If they’re fully-stocked and up-to-date, they can make the difference between being able to treat something at home and having to head out to find a pharmacy that’s open on a cold winter’s day. If you do need to visit a pharmacy on one of the public holidays, you’ll find information on which ones are open by clicking here. There’s also an interactive map here
Most of us will come into contact with many people over Christmas and New Year. Remember that winter is a time when extremely unpleasant and contagious viruses circulate, from colds and flu to Covid-19 and Norovirus, so please take steps to protect yourself and those around you – particularly anyone who is elderly or who has a long-term health condition. Think back to the handwashing, the social distancing, etc., that we all had to put into practice during the pandemic. If you do become unwell, you should consider isolating yourself until you have recovered, in order to protect vulnerable people by reducing the spread of viruses.
Caring for yourself at home will see you through many winter bugs – which often just require rest and hydration and perhaps over-the-counter medication to cope with the worst of the symptoms. Minor injuries, such as small cuts and grazes, can often be successfully managed at home with some basic first aid and equipment. Keeping your house heated to at least 18°c is also an important part of staying well over Christmas and New Year and the winter as a whole.
Making the Right Choice when you’re unwell is essential to reducing delays and anxiety. Whether it’s self-care at home, or a visit to the pharmacy, contacting the NHS111 service or visiting a minor injury unit, right up to a visit to A&E, it helps to know in advance where to turn.
The days leading into and immediately after bank holiday weekends are already challenging for the NHS. Following the New Year, junior doctors will be striking for six days from 7am on 3rd January to 7am on the 9th. The NHS is asking patients to choose services appropriately during industrial action and take simple steps to help ensure care is available to patients who need it most. This includes using 111 online as the first port of call for health needs, and only using 999 if it is a life-threatening emergency.
General practice, community pharmacies, and dentistry are open and the public should continue to access these services as needed on strike days.
We’ve put together information to help you to choose in a range of common situations. Click here for more information.