Does the NHS work at weekends, Easter, Christmas or bank holidays?
No, not properly. It should. Anyway here goes.
Well, most of it does not. But parts of the NHS provide some parts of their normal service. It half-works at weekends. But ..
Easter, Xmas, New Year? Forget it.
Hospitals
For example, hospitals do not run all services at weekend, Easter or bank holidays or 24 hours a day. The most senior hospital doctors (consultants) are present in small numbers at weekends and on bank holidays.
Hence most wards do not have a weekend or bank holiday ward round. That’s no ward rounds for 4 days over Easter. A few specialist wards will get some ward rounds. These may not involve the consultants (bosses).
This is why ward discharges fall to 60% of normal on a Saturday and 40% on a Sunday (or Bank Holiday). This is a major part of the reason why our hospitals are jammed.
Also getting key investigations like scans is harder.
There are few planned operations and no outpatient clinics. Some [including MyHSN Ed!] think this is a waste of a valuable resource.
GPs
GP surgeries are usually open Monday – Friday 8am-6.30pm excluding bank holidays. There is 24 hour GP cover but this is not by your local surgery.
Ok. So .. let’s go through other NHS services weekends and bank holidays.
NHS111
If you need urgent care at the weekend then your first port of call should be NHS111. 111 can provide advice on where to go for help, and even book you a local emergency GP appointment if needed.
Pharmacy
Pharmacies can also be a useful place to go for advice. And you can also get an emergency prescription from them if you have run out if tablets (more information on that here). Please take a copy of your current prescription. The bigger ones (e.g. Boots) are often open at weekends.
‘Walk-in Centres’ or ‘Urgent Treatment Centres (UTCs)’ or ‘Minor Injuries Units’ (all similar)
Many areas of the UK have one of these. You do not need an appointment. You can turn up and wait to be seen by a doctor. They are usually open 8am-8pm 7 days a week.
Running out of tablets at weekends and bank holidays
Again, they are a good place to go if you have run out of tablets. Again, please take your current prescription.
These centres treat the sort of problems you would see your GP for if they were open. You can find one here using the NHS website.
Accident and Emergency (A&E)
If you have a serious accident or emergency, go to your nearest Accident and Emergency (A&E) department. A&Es are open 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
If you are too unwell to get there yourself, ring 999 to get an ambulance. The ambulance service also runs 24 hours a day.
Mental Health
Mental health care is especially poor at weekends. Full stop.
If you are suicidal, go to A&E (24h) or a Walk-in or Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC; both 8am-8pm).
If you are very unwell call the Mental Health Crisis Team (MHCT). Ring them if you have their number, if not, Google ‘urgent mental health helpline or crisis team’ + local area.
If you are not to bad, wait till Monday and see your GP, IAPT (NHS counsellor) or private counsellor.
Wait for Monday?
Depending on the condition, it may be better to wait for Monday and see your GP. Say, for example, you have had quite bad back pain for two weeks, and you think you may need a scan (e.g. MRI).
If you go in to hospital at the weekend you may be seen by a non-specialist junior doctor, and not get a scan. But if you are OK (no leg weakness and in control of your wee and poo) it may be better to go there on Monday, you may see a senior back specialist, and get a scan.
Weekend Effect
It is a concern that hospital mortality is 11% higher at weekends, and bank holidays. This is true for all types of diseases: medical and surgical (big or small operations). The wikipedia page on the weekend effect shows the evidence for this observation.
Easter is the most dangerous time for NHS. There is a 4 day break and mortality is always the highest of the year. Be careful .. our lovely readers 😨.
A doctors choice
It is the choice of senior doctors that the NHS is not available to the public of the UK at weekends.
Amazon, Premier Inn and Tesco’s do it. Doctors could easily provide a service.
You pay our salary. It is your NHS. And the NHS is 10% of your hard earned taxes. Why not campaign via your MP to sort out this poor service.
Summary
We have explained whether the NHS works at weekends, Easter or bank holidays. Answer. A few parts of the NHS do work, most does not. But we hope you know more about where you can go now. The NHS should all work normally 7 days a week .. in our view. It is a doctors choice that it does not.
