Outside of normal surgery hours the West Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group is responsible for emergency cover and emergency medical care is provided by Care UK on telephone number 111. If you call our enquiry line (665711) before 08.00 or after 18.30 you will automatically be directed to the NHS 111 service who will then refer you to the Out of Hours service if you need further help.
It is important that you telephone 111 as Out-of-Hours do not offer a walk-in service and the emergency centres are not always manned.
Please remember that this service is only for emergencies or other genuinely urgent medical problems. By its nature there are inevitably times when the service becomes very busy, and this can lead to a considerable wait for advice or treatment.
Remember also that the nurse or doctor that you consult will not have your medical records and will not be able to advise about routine or non-urgent medical problems.
Any contacts that you have with Care UK or NHS 111 will be notified to the surgery the next morning, and the record of your consultation will be entered into your GP records.
In a genuine emergency you should call 999. Chest pains and / or shortness of breath constitute an emergency.