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Ahead of the winter season, doctors from Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) have told people to think carefully about where to turn for help if they need it.

In the latest episode of ‘Gwent Health Matters’ – a new podcast featuring emergency medicine consultant Dr. Rob Stafford, and clinical director of emergency medicine Dr Alastair Richards, the pair discuss how people should go about accessing the right service for them.

When asked what the people of Gwent could do to support the NHS this winter, Dr Stafford said: “When somebody feels that they need some medical help, [I would ask] that they invest some time in trying to access the right bit of the system.

“So I think that you can see an emergency, the emergency department, as being somewhere where the lights are on, that you can access medical care, but it’s not always the right place for people to go as a first point of call.

“It is for some people if they have things like severe chest pain or breathing problems or signs of a stroke. But for more minor conditions like coughs and colds, there are other options available.

“There are services like 111 which people can access if they’re not sure which part of the system to go to. They can access care in pharmacies. And so I would just ask people to spend a little bit of time trying to access the right bit of the system at the right time.

“And I’m not telling people who have fallen, who can’t get up, that they shouldn’t be coming to hospital. They definitely should be, but people who have more minor conditions should consider whether coming to the hospital, to the emergency department, as their first port of call is the right thing for them.”

Dr Alastair Richards added: “It is that there are multiple areas where people can access the system and it is complicated, but the knock on effects are that you might get a better experience choosing a slightly different route in and end up with the same outcome and at the same time, free up the resource in the emergency department to concentrate on the really sick or to not have a long wait on a hard chair and the frustrations that go with that.

“They’re frustrating for us as staff on the shop floor so I can only imagine how frustrating it is for everyone else.”

Gwent Health Matters is available on the ABUHB website, as well as on Spotify and Amazon podcasts. Listen to the full podcast here: Podcasts – Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (nhs.wales).

Find help and advice on the best ways to look after your physical and mental wellbeing this winter at Keeping Well This Winter – Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (nhs.wales)