Segregation outside working hours: how one can use it effectively and properly?

The world we live in is continuously changing at an alarming rate. Before working at NHS 24 I worked in acute medicine in a hospital; I had no insight into out-of-hours (OOH) care or how I accessed it. I knew that if I felt unwell, it could last until I went to a GP surgery the following day or went to hospital in an emergency. Access to OOH is now routinely hunted for symptoms which might be self-limiting and could be easily treated and managed by local pharmacies or by the person themselves.

The point is that we live in a 24/7 culture where the general public expects access to all of their health needs at a time and place that’s convenient for them. There is increased contact through the OOH period in an effort to gain access to health care after the closure of the medical clinic. In the old days, the pinnacle of the household (also often called Grandma) would require advice on how one can manage these symptoms, but now the phone is instantly picked up and 111 is dialed. This change in behavior and the way in which we take care (or don’t) of our health has been particularly noticeable within the seventeen to mid-thirties age group because of symptoms akin to cough and cold symptoms. These symptoms could have only been present for an hour or less, but callers want to have access to medical advice and medications that “fix” them. They often appear to not have taken any easy home care measures, akin to taking paracetemol or increasing their fluid intake, because they often wish that a health care skilled would “see” them or assess them with all of the symptoms present. As winter approaches, coughs and colds shall be the norm for many of us, so it’s the right time to lift awareness and discuss how we are able to teach one another how one can manage these symptoms ourselves.

However, it matches right into a broader narrative about personal responsibility for health and well-being, supported self-government and involvement in our care. With Scotland’s concentrate on realistic medicine (https://www.realisticmedicine.scot/) and putting the person receiving healthcare at the middle of all decisions about their care, we must concentrate on education and responsibility for our individual health.

Realistic medicine has 4 principal goals: shared decision-making between healthcare professionals and patients, ensuring a personalised approach to care, reducing harmful and wasteful care, and eventually, collaboration between healthcare professionals to avoid duplication of effort and supply a coherent package of care that higher suits society needs and desires. The query arises: “How do health care professionals encourage the public to take responsibility for their own health?”, which begins with an easy disease that doesn’t require health care intervention, but education on how one can maintain yourself when you’re unwell. I feel. We must also consider when this education begins, for instance through the primary school years. How can we encourage and support our younger generations to develop into health literate so that they can navigate the “system” in effective but appropriate ways?

Ms Dawn Orr, Nurse Consultant, Telehealth and Telecare, NHS 24

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