Pembrokeshire residents are being urged to continue using the online NHS 111 Wales website service even though the pressure on the NHS, due to Covid-19, is easing.

The NHS 111 Wales online symptom checker can save Pembrokeshire patients time by helping them find the right NHS service for treatment. Symptoms can be quickly checked for a variety of conditions and advice given on the best way to treat them by visiting www.111.wales.nhs.uk which is hosted by the Welsh Ambulance Service.

Claire Roche, Executive Director of Quality and Nursing at the Welsh Ambulance Service, which hosts the NHS 111 Wales service, said: “The NHS 111 Wales website should be your first port of call when you are ill or injured and are unsure what to do.

“There are more than 30 symptom checkers on the website, from back pain and breathing difficulties, diarrhoea and dental pain, to falls and flatulence.

“You’ll answer a series of questions which determine what to do next, whether that’s to self-care for your symptoms at home, visit a pharmacist, consult a GP, call 111 for a telephone assessment or in extreme cases, call 999.

“If we can help patients with a less serious illness or injury online, or via the 111 telephone service then we are preventing calls to 999 which may not always be appropriate.”

In a recent YouGov survey, nearly a third (32 per cent) of Mid and West Wales residents said they would be happy to check their symptoms online first as it would provide them with easily accessible important information to measure how severe their condition was.

NHS 111 Wales online can help if you have an urgent medical problem and you’re not sure what to do. You answer questions about your symptoms on the website and depending on the situation you will:

• Get self-care advice

• Be told how to get any medicine you need

• Find out what local service can help you

• Speak to a health care professional

Thirty-nine percent of Mid and West Wales residents however, said they would rather speak directly to a person when asked for the recent YouGov survey.

For those who don’t have confidence going online to seek advice, there is the NHS 111 Wales phone service.

This is also a free service where patients can contact the NHS Wales by dialling 111 to receive advice on the best way to manage their issue or gain further assistance if needed.

The bilingual telephone service is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week.