Help us to Help you

The NHS is still here for you.

Make sure you receive the right care when and where you need it.

  • Seek the urgent advice you need
  • Get the right treatment as soon as possible
  • Protect you and your family from future illness
  • Access the right healthcare in a safe way

Don’t put off seeking urgent treatment or advice from your Doctor, Midwife, Pharmacist or other care expert when you are feeling unwell or worried about a new or existing condition – your health is important to us and there are a range of services available. You can help us, help you by using the service that best meets your needs. This also helps people who are critically unwell get the urgent medical help they need more quickly.

The Surrey Heart Beetz campaign is encouraging people to use the service that best meets their needs and central to the campaign is the Heart Beetz video which provides a full rundown of services available, listed below.

Every care setting including hospitals and GP practices have robust measures in place to keep you and your family safe during face to face appointments. Please attend these appointments if you have been advised to do so.

Self-care

The NHS is here to help when you need it – but you can also Help us Help you by knowing when you can care for yourself, and your family at home. By having a well-stocked medicine cabinet you can treat many common health conditions like sore throats, colds, coughs and grazed knees.

If you have a common condition such as coughs and colds, sprains and strains, sore throat, sinusitis, earache, constipation or a headache you can speak to your local pharmacist and get free confidential advice. Pharmacists can advise you on many things from advice on common condition to your medication.

If you’re worried, call NHS111 and they will provide advice over the phone or you can visit 111.nhs.uk.

Pharmacies

Pharmacies are a good place to start and can help with many common problems including coughs, colds, stomach problems and aches and pains. Pharmacists are highly qualified and can offer advice and information on many health issues so Help us Help you and try them first for minor problems – and when you just need some advice.

NHS find a pharmacy

Repeat prescriptions

Did you know that you don’t need to call your GP Practice to order repeat prescriptions? You can do this online or through the NHS App. Download the NHS App here

NHS 111

When you, or your family, need urgent health advice but it’s not an emergency or if you’re not sure where to go, NHS 111 can help with urgent health advice around the clock – you can call 111 or go to 111.nhs.uk.

  • NHS 111 provides advice and can link you up with the service you need – which could include a pharmacy, GP, minor injuries unit, urgent treatment centre or walk-in-centre
  • NHS 111 can also now book you a timed arrival slot in walk-in centres and Emergency Departments if that’s where you need to be – so you come with a pre-booked appointment, which will often mean you will be seen more quickly – but our ED teams will still need to prioritise patients who are critically ill.
  • NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for health advice. Calls are free from landlines and mobile phones.

GP Services

GP services, or primary care services as they are also known, are the front door to the NHS. This means it is often the first place a person may visit when they have a health care need or are seeking advice regarding a health matter.

There have been changes to the way we access advice from GPs and their teams with an increase in online and digital, however primary care has and continues to be as accessible as it always has been.

You can find your local GP practice by following this link – NHS find a GP.

Access to appointments

GP practices are open and where appropriate and necessary, are offering face to face consultations. However, increasingly consultations can now be done over the phone or using a digital device.

For those who can access digital devices, the vast majority of GP practices offer online services to their patients, which include booking and cancelling of appointments, ordering repeat prescriptions and access to their GP record. Some GP practice websites also offer a service online for patients who need advice and treatment for a health matter. Using this system, a GP or health care professional will get back to you and if necessary, you will be offered an appointment online, by telephone or face-to-face.

For the majority of practices a triage process has been introduced which means a telephone call with a GP initially takes place to determine if advice and treatment can be provided without coming into the surgery.

If you need to see a GP or clinician in person

You may need to do an assessment over the phone first with a GP or Nurse Practitioner to find out more about your health care need. This means that you are seeing the right person and are seen in the appropriate time.

As part of this initial assessment, our receptionists might need to ask you some additional questions. This is to help ensure that you get the right care, in the right way, by the right professional. All staff operate strict privacy guidelines, all your information is treated confidentially.

If you are unsure of what online services are available at your GP practice, please visit their website.

What services are available at GP practices?

GPs work as part of a multidisciplinary team (MDTs) who support the care of any patient through promoting, preventing and initiating treatment. They will also refer and signpost to other services if required. Therefore, depending on your health care need, it might be appropriate to make an appointment directly with a member of the team other than the GP. These roles will vary in each practice but include:

  • Practice Nurses
  • Community Midwives
  • Community Paramedics
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Clinical Pharmacists
  • Health Visitors
  • Mental Health Specialist
  • Physiotherapists

The MDT meet regularly to discuss cases and plan joint approaches to co-ordinate packages of care for patients.

How can you get the best out of your GP consultation, watch this video.

GP out-of-hours services

If you feel that you need to see a doctor outside of GP practice opening hours (known as ‘out-of-hours’) and it is not an emergency please call 111.

  • The Surrey Heartlands GP out-of-hours service does not offer walk-in appointments, and can only be accessed by calling NHS 111.
  • The out-of-hours service is for urgent cases only. If your problem isn’t urgent, please contact your GP surgery when it is next open.
  • The GP out-of-hours service is open Monday to Friday from 6.30pm to 8.00am, and for 24 hours at weekends and during bank holidays.
  • NHS 111 will tell you if you need a face-to-face appointment and this could be either at a local healthcare centre or a home visit.

Find out more by visiting the Surrey NHS 111 service website.

Walk-in Centres

Nurse-led NHS walk-in centres can help if you have an urgent but non-life threatening injury or illness. No appointment is needed. They can provide a quicker and more appropriate route to treatment than hospital A&E departments.

Ashford Walk-in Centre

  • Ashford Health Centre, London Road, Ashford TW15 3FE
  • Open Monday to Sunday (365 days a year), 8am to 8pm.
  • Tel: 01784 884 000
  • For adults or children aged 2 years and over
  • Further information (via CSH Surrey website)

Woking Walk-in Centre

  • Woking Community Hospital, Heathside Road, Woking, GU22 7HS
  • Open Monday to Sunday (365 days a year), 8am to 8pm.
  • Tel: 01483 846 209
  • For adults or children aged 2 years and over
  • Further information (via CSH Surrey website)

Minor Injury Units

Nurse-led minor injury units (MIUs) can also provide a quicker and more appropriate treatment than going to A&E. No appointment is needed but you can book a timed arrival slot through NHS 111 – this helps us know you’re coming and it will also help you get seen more quickly.

Treatment is available for minor injuries such as:

  • Bites / stings
  • Cuts / grazes
  • Minor burns / scalds
  • Minor eye / ear injuries, including removal of foreign bodies from the ears or nose
  • Minor head injuries
  • Removal of splinters
  • Sprains / strains / limb injuries
  • Suspected fractures / broken bones
  • Neck pain

Haslemere Minor Injury Unit

  • Haslemere Hospital, Church Lane, Haslemere, Surrey, GU27 2BJ
  • Open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
  • Tel: 01483 782 334
  • For adults or children aged 2 years and over
  • Further information (via Royal Surrey website)

Caterham Dene Minor Injury Unit

  • Caterham Dene Community Hospital, Church Road, Caterham, CR3 5RA
  • Open Monday to Sunday (365 days a year), 8am to 8pm
  • Tel: 01883 837 512
  • For adults aged 18 years and over
  • Further information (via First Community Healthcare website)

Urgent Treatment Centres

Urgent Treatment Centres (UTC) treat minor illnesses and injuries that are urgent but not life-threatening. They treat adults and children of any age and can deal with the most common ailments people attend A&E for. They are GP-led but are not an alternative to your GP practice, which should usually be contacted first.

You can walk-in to the service or an appointment can be booked through NHS 111.

St Peter’s Hospital, Urgent Treatment Centre

  • St Peter’s Hospital, Guildford Road, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 0PZ
  • Open Monday to Sunday (365 days a year), 8am to midnight
  • Further information (via Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals website)

Emergency Care

Only call 999 if it’s a medical emergency – that’s when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.

If you’re not sure where to go call 111 or go to 111.nhs.uk first for advice.

Emergency Departments are for medical emergencies – they are not for minor health problems.

  • If you suspect you or a family member is suffering from tightening chest pains or stoke symptoms dial 999 immediately, every second counts with these conditions.
  • Medical emergencies include loss of consciousness, severe confusion, chest pain, breathing difficulties, severe bleeding, severe allergic reactions and serious burns or scalds.
  • 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.

For ongoing cancer treatment, when advised to do so, please attend your regular appointments and screenings to ensure you receive the right care as soon as possible.

New and expectant mums

For new and expectant mothers, your regular antenatal appointments are really important to monitor the health of you and your baby. Your local midwifery team will be in touch to advise you if your appointment will be carried out over the phone or face to face, and the team will always ensure there are safe measures in place to meet social distancing guidelines.

Visit your local hospital’s maternity page for up to date guidance on maternity services:

Call A Midwife Surrey Advice Line

Surrey Heartlands also plans to give women greater choice, including the creation of a single community midwifery team, a shared home birthing team and the introduction of a shared electronic health record system. The three hospital trusts involved are Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust and Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Other local support and information

Children

For your children 0-5 years old there is the free Child Health app. Go to your app store on Apple or Google Play.

Mental health

Mindworks Surrey is the new emotional wellbeing and mental health service for children and young people in Surrey.

The Covid-19 pandemic can cause enormous anxiety for many people, even if you haven’t previously suffered. It’s really important that you seek support as soon as possible – there are a number of Surrey services which can offer emotional wellbeing and mental health support. Visit Healthy Surrey for more information.

If you already suffer from anxiety, stress or are receiving ongoing support for your mental health, your key workers and support systems are still here for you. Please continue to seek help in the same way you did before any Covid-19 measures were put in place – the way your support is delivered may be slightly different but the level of support remains unchanged.

Those who are unable to access online services, can continue to seek emotional wellbeing support through a free, 24 hour, 7 day a week confidential helpline on 0808 802 5000 (in high demand periods, an answerphone service may be in place) or by SMS Text 07537 432411 (staffed Monday to Friday 9am-2pm).

For people experiencing a mental health crisis, please telephone 0800 915 4644 (24 hours, 7 days a week). If you have speech or hearing difficulties, you can contact the helpline through SMS 07717 989024, Next Generation text service. Dial 18001 0800 915 4644 from your text phone or smart app.

For non-urgent medical advice, please visit 111 online.

Flu vaccination

Discover detailed information about the flu vaccination, including the latest resources and FAQs, on the flu vaccination page.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination programme

Discover detailed information, including the latest Covid-19 FAQs, on the Covid-19 vaccination programme page.

Routine vaccinations

Regular immunisations such as the MMR vaccination are vital in protecting you and your family against preventable, potentially deadly diseases and should not be delayed. Your GP practice can advise on re-scheduling your appointment, and attending in a safe way. Visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations for further advice on the different routine vaccinations available.