Do you wish your symptoms could be treated without having to attend the surgery? In 25% of cases, this is possible. To save a trip to the surgery (and enable GPs to see patients more quickly), please try the “3 before GP” steps:

• 1. Can you sort it yourself? – e.g. if you have a cold, you should rest, keep warm, take plenty of fluids and take cold medicines. A GP can’t cure a cold.
• 2. If you would like advice, then please look at our website’s Treatment Room or go onto the NHS Choices website, which gives advice and is written by doctors and nurses.
• 3. If you would like more advice, or have a question about online advice, please pop in and see your local pharmacist.

We don’t want to stop patients seeing their GP if they need to, but 50,000 appointments a year could be released to people who cannot treat themselves and need to see the GP.