Dec 09
21
HSE urges people to ‘USE THE RIGHT DOOR’
Health Service Executive (HSE)
The Irish HSE (Health Service Executive) is urging people to “Use the Right Door” this Christmas as part of the HSE Winter Initiative. A leaflet, entitled Use The Right Door, which gives information on the various health services is now available from the HSE Information Line on 1850 24 1850 and www.hse.ie (http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/news/Archive/Use_the_right_door_leaflet.pdf ). Making people more aware of the various doors to health services will make it easier to select the most appropriate and quickest way to get advice or help.
The variety of healthcare, advice and information includes:
Your Own Door – many accidents occur at home, so a Home First Aid Kit that is well-stocked and easily accessible is important. A basic knowledge of First Aid is also very useful. A first aid kit can help reduce the pain and trauma of an accident at home.
The Pharmacy Door – for many people, their local pharmacy is their first point of contact with the health service when they are ill or need medical advice. Pharmacists are a great source of sound judgment and advice.
The Doctor (GP) Clinic Door – most doctors’ clinics provide an emergency appointment service during normal clinic hours. You should register yourself and your family with a local GP and if you do not have the details of your nearest doctor, please ring the HSE Information Line on 1850 24 1850.
GP Out of Hours Door – the GP out of hours is a high quality clinical service for problems that require urgent care, outside of normal working hours. The Out of Hours service is available from 6pm in the evening until 8am, Monday to Thursday and at the weekend from 6pm Friday until 8am Monday.
Emergency Department Door – Emergency Departments treat seriously ill patients and should be kept for emergencies only. As soon as somebody arrives at an Emergency Department they are clinically prioritised using an internationally recognised triage system. The triage process ensures the most seriously ill patients are seen first, while patients with less severe injuries wait longer, and those with minor injuries longer still. There are 35 Emergency Departments in hospitals across the country, contact the Winter Information Line on 1850 24 1850 or by logging on to www.hse.ie for details of your nearest Emergency Department.
According to John O’Brien, the HSE’s National Director for the Winter Initiative; “sometimes the Emergency Department door is the first place people think of when they need help or medical assistance. During the Christmas holidays, the HSE will continue to provide essential health services to those who need them and many HSE staff will be working hard during the festive period to ensure that appropriate care is provided. GPs, GP Out of Hours services and many pharmacies will also be providing health services over the coming week and we would encourage people to think about which door/service is the right one for what they need.”
The public can get a leaflet and further information on GP out of hours services by telephoning the HSE Information Line 1850 24 1850.
The HSE Information Line operates from Monday to Saturday, from 8am to 8pm providing information on all HSE services nationwide. Over the Christmas period it will operate as normal, apart from the following days -
Christmas Day – December 25th – closed
St. Stephen’s Day – December 26th – closed
New Year’s Day – January 1st – closed
Information, including the ‘Use the Right Door’ leaflet, is also available on www.hse.ie. In the ‘Find a Health Service’ you will find information on various health services in your area.
