A young mum is praising NHS 24 after the service helped her to get urgent care for her two small children, without having to go to accident and emergency.

Gillian Weir from Stonehouse was worried when her two children became unwell over the weekend, so decided to call NHS 24 for advice.

Gillian explains: “On Friday night, my little boy started to feel unwell. He was burning up and coughing and he was also sick a few times.

“By the Saturday morning, my four month old baby was starting to display the same symptoms and I thought it was best to get them checked out by a doctor.

“I was convinced they both had a chest infection and thought I better get them checked out.”

After speaking to NHS 24 Gillian was referred to her local ‘Out of Hours’ clinic in Hamilton, which provides care to patients when their own GP practice is closed.

Gillian said: “Although the Out of Hours service was exceptionally busy when I arrived, I am very grateful that my children received fantastic care from the doctors and nurses who work incredibly hard.”

Dr John Henderson, clinical lead for the Out of Hours service, adds:

“The Out of Hours service is for people who need to see their GP for urgent care. We need to provide the highest level of care promptly to the patients that really need our service.

“If you are concerned about an illness or an ailment we encourage you to visit the NHS Inform website first. It offers advice on self-care and information on local health services, including the Lanarkshire Emergency Eye care Network Scheme (LENS), local pharmacies and dentists.

Calls to the Out of Hours service are directed by NHS 24. This will lead to either a clinic appointment, a GP call or house visit for the elderly, debilitated and palliative patients, for whom travel to the clinic would not be possible.

Dr Henderson added: “People’s own GPs are much better equipped to deal with routine or ongoing and chronic issues, so it is always preferable if you can see them. However, in emergencies Out of Hours is a vital service that can help people manage their conditions.”

Further information on the range of health care services available in Lanarkshire can be found can be found at nhsinform.scot and nhslanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk/kwttt/