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NHS Direct provides a telephone helpline service, a website, and an interactive digital television service.
NHS Direct have recently joined forces with NHS Choices to provide health information. So you can now access all NHS online health information on one website. By integrating the online services of NHS Direct and NHS Choices, the NHS has the most comprehensive online health information service available anywhere.
NHS Direct will continue to provide the telephone service on 0845 4647, providing health advice and information 24/7. All NHS Direct website health content will also be available on NHS Choices, including the following popular services:
- Self-help guide – provides you with quick and easy ways of checking your symptoms and deciding whether you need to seek health advice.
- Health encyclopaedia - provides reliable information on more than 800 conditions and treatments.
- Common health questions – allows you to obtain answers to topical and frequently asked health questions.
- Online enquiry service – you can submit and receive answers to non-emergency health questions.
The self-help guide and online enquiry service will also continue to be delivered and made available on the NHS Direct website.
Telephone helpline
You can call the NHS Direct helpline on telephone number 0845 46 47 at any time of the day or night, 365 days a year (including bank holidays). When you call, you will be asked to give some basic information about yourself and to explain why you are calling. If you need advice about a health problem, you will be asked if you are calling for yourself, or on behalf of someone else, and will be asked to explain:
- what the symptoms are, how they affect you (or the person you are calling about) and when they began;
- what you (or the person you are calling about) have tried already;
- any drugs you (or the person you are calling about) are already taking;
- any existing medical conditions; and
- anything else that you think is relevant.
If you are calling on behalf of someone else, that person needs to be in the same room as you so that the nurse can accurately assess their symptoms. An NHS Direct nurse will then advise you on the most appropriate course of action to take.
With the right advice and information, lots of non-serious health problems can be treated at home or following a visit to your local pharmacist. If the problem is more serious, you may need to see your GP or go to hospital. Whatever the problem, the NHS Direct nurse will listen to the symptoms you describe and will advise you on what to do for the best. If your problem is very serious, they will connect you to the ambulance service.
NHS Direct staff can also provide information on a wide range of healthcare topics, from helping you to find out more about diagnosed conditions and treatments, to giving details of local health services.
If English is not your first language, you can use the NHS Direct's confidential interpretation service to get help, advice and information. When you phone NHS Direct, just say the language you would prefer to use. For more information on this, please see our section on Interpreting and translation.
For deaf people, or for those who are hard of hearing, there is a textphone service available on telephone number 0845 606 4647.
Calls to NHS Direct cost a maximum of 5p per minute from a BT landline. The cost of calls from mobile telephones and other networks may vary.
Website
NHS Direct Online is a website that provides high-quality health information and advice. It is uniquely supported by the 24-hour helpline that is described above.
If you use NHS Direct Online and you are in any doubt about what action you should take, you should call NHS Direct on telephone number 0845 46 47.
NHS Direct Online has a self-help guide that you can use to treat common health problems at home. You use a Body Key to identify your symptoms, and then answer simple step-by-step questions to work out what action you should take.
The guide will give you one of the following three courses of action:
- Self-care - It is safe to manage this problem yourself at home.
- Call NHS Direct on telephone number 0845 46 47 - An NHS Direct nurse will advise you on whether you need medical attention and, if you do, how quickly you should get help.
- Call 999 - Seek emergency help immediately, call 999 and ask for an ambulance.
If the guide suggests dealing with the problem yourself, it will give you advice on:
- what to do;
- what medicines, if any, you can buy from your pharmacist which could help; and
- which other people or organisations can offer you more advice.
This self-help guide is also available in the back of all new Thomson Local telephone directories.
NHS Choices Health encyclopaedia contains over 700 topics covering illnesses and conditions, tests, treatments and operations. Many topics are supported by illustrations or photographs. Information on illnesses or conditions includes sections covering diagnosis, prevention, complications and treatment.
Interactive digital television
NHS Direct Digital Television is an interactive 24-hour television service that you can get if you have Freeview or Sky Digital television.
- To access the service on Freeview, go to channel 108. If you can't access channel 108, you may need to retune or rescan your digital box or television so that it can find the new channel.
- To access the service on Sky Digital, press the 'INTERACTIVE' button on your remote control, scroll down the menu to 'NHS Direct Interactive' and press the 'SELECT' button.
NHS Direct Digital Television has a wide range of information, including:
- news on current health issues;
- advice on looking after yourself, including topics such as eating well, exercising and giving up smoking;
- feature articles about long-term health conditions;
- answers to common health questions; and
- general information about NHS services.
If you use NHS Direct Digital Television and you are in any doubt about what action you should take, call NHS Direct on telephone number 0845 46 47.
Article last updated November 11, 2008 9:22 am
