NHS 24 helped more people than ever over the 4-day Easter weekend, as Scots increasingly choose to find digital solutions to their health issues.
NHS 24’s online service, NHS inform, saw a significant increase in use over this time, with a jump in visitors to the site of nearly 44% (43.9%) compared to Easter 2022.
The service also registered a 46% increase in users accessing NHS 24’s online symptom checkers and care guides. Usage was also up 4% compared with the previous weekend.
NHS 24’s director of service delivery, Pauline Howie, said the rise in usage figures is good news not only for NHS 24 but for the whole NHS and people across Scotland:
“We all know that the Bank Holidays can be especially challenging for our NHS. We plan our 111 service to meet the increased demand, but we also ask the public to help us in two ways – planning ahead and checking NHS inform as their first port of call,” she said.
“Planning ahead is important because it means people can deal with any minor health issues at home without the need to call us – a lot of our calls are about medicines, so we remind people to check their repeat medications, make sure they have enough and to have home remedies, just in case.”
NHS inform and the NHS 24 Online phone app are designed to be convenient and help users avoid the need to contact a healthcare professional; most issues can be dealt with quickly and easily using the self-help guides. NHS inform also has a service directory to help people find a service nearby.
For example, if someone has an issue with their medication this can be sorted using the self-help guide and, if needed, a quick visit to the local pharmacy.
“This is good news for the 111 service which has just answered more than 31,000 calls over the Easter weekend,” Howie added.
“That’s 2000 more than last year and callers waited an average of just 10 minutes to get through to the service across the 4 days.”