Health chiefs across Herefordshire are asking people to think carefully about where they go for treatment this winter. Hospitals can fill up quickly with people needing urgent care – this can mean long waits if you’re there for a non-serious illness.

Pharmacies are equipped to give expert advice over the counter, and NHS 111 is only a call away. The NHS 111 service is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by a team of fully trained advisers. They will ask questions to assess your symptoms and, depending on the situation, will then give you self-care advice, connect you to a nurse, emergency dentist or GP, book you a face-to-face appointment, send an ambulance directly, if necessary, or direct you to the local service that can help you best.

To help it cope with patients needing urgent medical care the Wye Valley NHS Trust has announced it is to open a new ward at Hereford County Hospital. This follows the temporary closure of the Minor Injury Units at Ross-on-Wye and Leominster to allow staff to be redeployed to help care for seriously ill patients at the County Hospital. The Trust is also urging Herefordshire residents who are most susceptible to flu to make an appointment with their local GP practice or pharmacy to book a free flu vaccination as soon as possible as it is the single best protection against flu.