NHS Cheshire and Merseyside update on system pressures

As Cheshire and Merseyside’s NHS services report significant and increasing pressure, we are urging members of public to use NHS 111 Online to ensure they are signposted to the correct service for them. Accessing the right care at the right time means the NHS can be there for people who need us most this winter.

NHS 111 Online can tell you:

• Where to get help for your symptoms, if you're not sure what to do
• How to find general health information and advice
• Where to get an emergency supply of your prescribed medicine
• How to get a repeat prescription

In Cheshire and Merseyside, we are experiencing a sustained increase in demand for all NHS services – including exceptionally high numbers of people attending emergency departments (A&E) and GP practices. As always, all NHS staff are working hard to make sure patients are seen in order of clinical need.

Our priority, as always, is to ensure safe and high-quality care for people in Cheshire and Merseyside. Hospitals and our community services, including staff across nursing, pharmacy, primary care and general practice with other colleagues are doing all they can to meet people’s needs.

The NHS will contact you if an appointment needs to be rescheduled. If you have not been contacted, please attend your appointment as planned.

Irrespective of how busy local NHS services are, and any industrial action, it is essential that people who need urgent medical care continue to come forward – especially in emergency and life-threatening cases, when someone is seriously ill or injured or their life is at risk.

Do you need to call 999? Typical emergencies include cardiac arrest, loss of consciousness, fits that aren’t stopping, breathing difficulties, severe bleeding, severe allergic reactions and serious head injuries. If you have already called 999 to request an ambulance, please only call back if your condition has worsened or to cancel the ambulance. Repeatedly calling 999 can block phone lines for other emergencies.

More information about when to call 999 and when to go to A&E is available via the national NHS website.