NHS Direct Wales
Encyclopedia
NHS Direct Wales is a 24-hour telephone and internet health advice service provided by NHS Wales to enable people to obtain advice when use of the national emergency telephone number
(999 or 112) does not seem to be appropriate but there is some degree of urgency; it also functions as a confidential advice service for some medical matters which a patient might be reluctant to discuss with their own General Practitioner
(GP) and has subsidiary helplines for specific health matters such as human papillomavirus
.
It does not replace any of the existing emergency or non-emergency medical services but complements those already existing and enables callers who might not be fully able to diagnose themselves to be directed to care of an appropriate level of urgency, including transport to hospital if the diagnosis merits that action.
covering both England and Wales until it was transferred to Welsh control in June 2001 . On 1st April 2007 management of NHS Direct Wales was transferred from Swansea NHS Trust to the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust
NHS Direct Wales also provides the out-of-hours service for GPs in Anglesey, Gwynedd and Swansea Local Health Board areas http://wales.gov.uk/topics/health/nhswales/healthservice/nhsdirect/?lang=en.
The textphone service is on 0845 606 4647.
Access via RNID Typetalk is on 18001 0845 4647.
Callers receive a recorded announcement describing the services available and when appropriate will be transferred to a call handler who will take their details and pass them on to another person with relevant skills or will arrange for them to be called back http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/aboutus/callnhsdirectwales/ within three hours. If a problem appears serious enough then an ambulance will be sent. Callers can stay anonymous if they so wish.
The website does not provide an online diagnosis for current symptoms, but you can use the Online enquiry service http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/onlineenquiry/ to ask a non symptomatic question about anything else related to health, e.g. questions about health costs, questions about how to make a complaint, questions about what travel vaccinations are required.
Emergency telephone number
Many countries' public telephone networks have a single emergency telephone number, sometimes known as the universal emergency telephone number or occasionally the emergency services number, that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. The emergency telephone number may...
(999 or 112) does not seem to be appropriate but there is some degree of urgency; it also functions as a confidential advice service for some medical matters which a patient might be reluctant to discuss with their own General Practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
(GP) and has subsidiary helplines for specific health matters such as human papillomavirus
Human papillomavirus
Human papillomavirus is a member of the papillomavirus family of viruses that is capable of infecting humans. Like all papillomaviruses, HPVs establish productive infections only in keratinocytes of the skin or mucous membranes...
.
It does not replace any of the existing emergency or non-emergency medical services but complements those already existing and enables callers who might not be fully able to diagnose themselves to be directed to care of an appropriate level of urgency, including transport to hospital if the diagnosis merits that action.
Organisation and History
This service was originally provided as part of NHS DirectNHS Direct
NHS Direct is the health advice and information service provided by the National Health Service for residents and visitors in England, with advice offered 24 hours a day, every day of the year through telephone contact on the national 0845 46 47 number, web based symptom checkers at and via...
covering both England and Wales until it was transferred to Welsh control in June 2001 . On 1st April 2007 management of NHS Direct Wales was transferred from Swansea NHS Trust to the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust
NHS Direct Wales also provides the out-of-hours service for GPs in Anglesey, Gwynedd and Swansea Local Health Board areas http://wales.gov.uk/topics/health/nhswales/healthservice/nhsdirect/?lang=en.
Telephone
The telephone number for NHS Wales is 0845 46 47 (the same number as used for the equivalent service in England).Website
The website is located at http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.ukThe textphone service is on 0845 606 4647.
Access via RNID Typetalk is on 18001 0845 4647.
Callers receive a recorded announcement describing the services available and when appropriate will be transferred to a call handler who will take their details and pass them on to another person with relevant skills or will arrange for them to be called back http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/aboutus/callnhsdirectwales/ within three hours. If a problem appears serious enough then an ambulance will be sent. Callers can stay anonymous if they so wish.
Internet
The NHS Direct Wales website http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/ provides a gateway to a number of resources in English, Welsh and other languages including a health encyclopaedia http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/encyclopaedia and the locations of GP surgeries http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/localservices/searchlocalservices.aspx?s=GPSurgeries, dentists http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/localservices/searchlocalservices.aspx?s=Dentist, pharmacists http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/localservices/searchlocalservices.aspx?s=Pharmacy and opticians http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/localservices/searchlocalservices.aspx?s=Optician. You can also use the Local Services section to search the Health, Well-Being & Support Directory for a local support group, befriending service, transport scheme, physical activity opportunity etc http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/localservices/searchlocalservices.aspx?s=HealthWellbeingAndSupport.The website does not provide an online diagnosis for current symptoms, but you can use the Online enquiry service http://www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/onlineenquiry/ to ask a non symptomatic question about anything else related to health, e.g. questions about health costs, questions about how to make a complaint, questions about what travel vaccinations are required.