The Department of Health is encouraging the public to be aware of services available over the holiday period to ensure you get the right care at the right time in the right place.
The Health and Social Care system including Health and Social Care Trusts, GPs, Pharmacists and Dentists have arrangements in place should you or a member of your family become ill or have an accident over the Christmas and the New Year holiday period.
Choosing the most appropriate service if you feel unwell is incredibly important to help ensure you get the right treatment and get better as quickly as possible.
Treatment for a range of minor illnesses and injuries is available through services such as the Pharmacy First service in Community Pharmacies, Minor Injuries Units, GPs and local opticians. You can also access advice on managing common mild illnesses using the NI Direct A-Z symptom checker.
A Children’s Symptom Checker is also available here.
For more serious illness and injury, you may be able to avoid or reduce waiting time at Accident and Emergency Departments unnecessarily by using the Phone First Service before travelling. When you contact the Phone First service in your Health Trust area, you will be given a medical assessment by a health professional over the phone, given advice and, if required, directed to the most appropriate urgent or community service.
In the event of a life-threatening emergency, always dial 999.
Please be aware of when and where you can access available services in your area and keep the contact numbers you might need to hand. Please also make use of the information available on the NI Direct and HSC websites and ensure you have all the medication you will need over the holiday period.
Self-care is the best choice to treat most minor illnesses, ailments and injuries. A range of common illnesses such as aches and pains, colds, upset stomachs and sore throats can be treated with over the counter medicines and plenty of rest.
Prescriptions
Always remember to order your repeat prescriptions prior to your GP practice closing for the holidays.
Community Pharmacy
Your community pharmacist can offer advice and treatment for common conditions, recommend treatment and refer patients to other healthcare professionals as appropriate. More information on the Pharmacy First service is available on the HSC NI website.
Over the Christmas and New Year holidays, Pharmacies will operate on a rota basis. The rota is available at on the BSO website.
GP opening hours over Christmas and New Year
GP practices will offer additional same day urgent clinical triage consultations, remaining open at lunch time with no half day closures for the working week over the Christmas and New Year holiday period.
GP practices will be closed on:
Christmas Day - Wednesday 25 December 2024
Boxing Day - Thursday 26 December 2024
New Year’s Day - Wednesday 1 January 2025
GP Out of Hours
This service is for urgent medical care when your GP surgery is closed. Find your local GP out of hours service on NI Direct.
Minor injuries Units
A Minor injuries unit can treat injuries that are not critical or life threatening, such as:
injuries to upper and lower limbs
broken bones, sprains, bruises and wounds
abscesses and wound infections
broken noses and nosebleeds
foreign bodies in the eyes and nose
Some Minor Injuries Units are operating a Phone First service. Before you attend please check your local services on NI Direct.
Emergency Departments
Emergency Departments provide the highest level of emergency care for patients with sudden and acute illness or severe trauma. Check information on NI Direct to find out current average waiting times across your local hospital sites and check which hospitals in your Health Trust area are operating the Phone First service.
For all emergencies that are life threatening, always call 999 immediately. This can include: Stroke, heart attack, loss of consciousness, breathing difficulties, severe bleeding or major trauma.
Out of Hours Dental Services
For out of hours urgent dental problems, patients should ring their own dental practice in the first instance. The practice will outline their out-of-hours arrangements or advise you to contact the Emergency Dental Clinic directly.
If they are not registered with a dentist, they should contact a local dental practice on the HSC NI website (type dental in search box). You can find out more at Emergency Dental Services.
Emergency Dental Clinics (EDCs)
Patients can only normally only contact EDCs on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays.
Over the Christmas and New Year holidays the EDCs will operate on the following dates:
Wednesday 25 December 2024
Thursday 26 December 2024
Saturday 28 December 2024
Sunday 29 December 2024
Wednesday 01 January 2025
Telephone: 028 2566 3510 (Telephone lines are open from 8am to 12 noon).
Telephone calls will be directed to a dentist for triage and if deemed clinically necessary, advice or treatment at an EDC will be provided for the following dental conditions:
dental swelling (spreading infection).
trauma to teeth arising from an external force.
uncontrolled bleeding following extraction.
severe dental pain not controlled by over the counter medications.
please note – as there is high demand for out-of-hours appointments patients may have to travel outside their area for treatment slots.
patients should not attend any site without an arranged appointment.
Urgent eye care
If you have an urgent eye problem during the holiday period, including:
sudden red eye
sudden pain or discomfort in the eyes, around the eye area
recent, sudden reduction in vision in one or both eyes
recent onset or sudden increase of flashes and/or floaters in one or both eyes
something in your eye that you cannot get out
please contact your local Optometrist in the first instance.
If your Optometry practice is closed and your eye problem is very urgent and cannot wait until normal opening hours, please contact your local Phone First service or nearest Hospital Emergency Department in an emergency.
Out of hours Regional Emergency Social Work Service
This service is for genuine emergencies that cannot wait until the next working day.
Contact the Regional Emergency Social Work Service on Telephone: 0800 197 9995.
Mental health emergency
For mental health emergencies, call Lifeline free, in confidence, 24/7 on 0808 808 8000.