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New leaflet helps parents get right support if their child is unwell
Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership have launched a new resource to help Surrey parents of children, aged from 0-5 years old, access the right NHS support if their child is unwell.
This new leaflet has been developed at a time when we are seeing a rise in attendances at A&Es and increasing pressures on the health system.
NHS services are there for those who need them and choosing the right service helps make sure that parents get the right help for their child. To help keep A&E for people who are critically unwell and urgently need help, it provides information and advice about the full range of help available to parents of young children 24/7.
The resource aims to help parents navigate the local health system more easily and provides bite sized explanations of the help you can expect from pharmacies, NHS 111, Surrey 0-19 advice line, Call a Midwife and other NHS services. It also includes a one-page guide to keep at hand where you’ll find all important contact details for local NHS services and details of links to further support.
The How to get the right help if your child is unwell leaflet is available as a printed leaflet, a pdf and a web accessible version.
How to get the right help if your child is unwell
Dr Pramit Patel, Lead Primary Care Network Clinical Director, explains:
“During the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic children were kept out of nurseries and schools and didn’t get exposed to simple viruses. As children are now mixing again, they are coming into contact with common cold and upper respiratory tract viruses and other bugs that are circulating. It’s important that parents know where to get the right help when their child is unwell.”
Nicki Weir, Consultant Paediatrician with Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, says:
"We know this is such a worrying time for parents with so many bugs being spread between children. Many illnesses can be treated by your pharmacist or GP, but our hospital services are here for those children who need additional care. We can all do our bit by knowing where to get the right help and this leaflet is a helpful guide for Surrey families.”