Health at home.
Managing minor ailments.
Working together to protect the NHS.
The GP practices, voluntary organisations and community centres that make up our network are here to help you manage your health—but we believe in empowering our community, and providing you with the tools you need to stay healthy, long-term.
There are a huge variety of resources available to help you take care of minor ailments, and live an all-round healthy lifestyle—and patients who take these steps enable our GPs to focus on looking after the most vulnerable in our society, while at the same time managing long-term conditions and developing innovative new services.
This more cost-effective way of working—a partnership between GPs and their community, in which both sides focus on positive health outcomes—allows money to be spent where it’s needed most, and ensure the long-term sustainability of the NHS.
With around one hour each day for every GP spent treating ailments that can be managed at home—at a cost to the NHS of £2billion—every patient who chooses to try self-care first really can make a difference.
We hope, then, that the resources on this page will be useful to our local community—and help us to protect our fantastic local services as we rebuild after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Your medicine cupboard.
Here are a few useful products we’d recommend keeping at home. Most of these are cheaper to buy over-the-counter than on prescription, and will save you a visit to your GP.
Painkillers.
Aspirin, ibuprofen and paracetamol are effective at treating most minor aches and pains. Try these first, and see if you feel better.
Oral rehydration salts.
Oral rehydration salts can help restore your body's natural balance of minerals and fluid lost through diarrhoea, fever, and vomiting, if you can't continue your normal diet.
Anti-diarrhoea tablets.
It's a good idea to keep anti-diarrhoea medicine at home as diarrhoea can happen without warning. Causes include food poisoning and a stomach virus.
First-aid kit.
It's always worth keeping a simple first aid kit at home—including bandages, plasters, antiseptic, eyewash solution, sterile dressings, tweezers, and a thermometer. These will give you peace of mind when accidents or illness happen, and allow you to manage minor ailments safely.
Anti-histamines.
Over-the-counter anti-histamines are very good for treating insect bites, and other allergies—and can be safely used during hayfever season.
Indigestion treatment.
If you have stomach ache, heartburn or trapped wind, a simple antacid will reduce stomach acidity and bring relief.
Sun cream.
You should always ensure you’ve got a UVA protecting sun cream with an SPF of at least 15 on hand (for those unexpected heat waves!) Too much sun can result in sunburn, and increase your risk of skin cancer.
I’ve tried treating my symptoms at home but I don’t feel better. What should I do?
Research shows that people often abandon self care earlier than they need to, typically seeking the advice of a doctor within a period of 4-7 days—either because they’re unsure of how long their symptoms should last, or because they want to make sure nothing more serious is wrong.
If you’ve managed your symptoms at home, and still aren’t feeling better, make sure you’re using the right service by checking the chart below:
