How do I get help at evenings, weekends and during bank holidays

For life threatening emergencies, dial 999 and ask for the ambulance service.

For health advice and information you may contact NHS direct on 0845 4647 24 hours a day. Further details below.

for primary care at evenings,weekends and bank holidays (known as out-of-hours, or OOH), please call the surgery OOH number, for details of the TCN (Take Care Now) OOH service.

(01493) 730449

How the service works

Patients ring the out-of-hours service and give details of their condition or that of a family member or friend. They are then phoned back and may be given advice over the telephone by a doctor or required to visit the primary care centre at the Kittywitches Centre Great Yarmouth. In some cases, a health professional may visit a patient at home if their condition means they are unable to travel

Family doctors are involved in diagnosing and treating patients, but specially trained paramedics and nurses also see patients

Who provides the service

This service is provided in the Great Yarmouth & Waveney area by a company contracted by the PCT (Primary Care Trust), called TCN (Take Care Now). This company provides primary care for patients at night or weekends and bank holidays.

St. James Health & Resource Centre, Queens Road, Great Yarmouth, NR30 3DG.

Click here for a map of the Great Yarmouth OOH Base at the Kittywitches Centre

Click here for TCN Website

How do you use the NHS direct telephone service?

Call the NHS Direct telephone service on 0845 4647. You will be asked to provide some basic information about yourself and to describe the nature of your call. If you need advice about a health problem, you are asked if you are calling for yourself or on behalf of someone else and are then asked:

What the symptoms are, how they affect you/the person and when they began; What you/the person have tried already; Any drugs you/the person are already taking; Any existing medical conditions; Anything else you think is relevant. NHS Direct nurses will use their skills and experience, together with a comprehensive computer system, to advise you on the most appropriate course of action to take.

With the right advice and information, lots of non-serious health problems can be treated at home or following a visit to your local pharmacist. If the problem is more serious, you may need to see your doctor or go to hospital. Whatever the problem, the NHS Direct nurse will listen to the symptoms you describe and advise you what to do for the best. If your problem is very serious, they will connect you to the ambulance service.

NHS Direct staff can also provide information on a wide range of healthcare topics, from helping you to find out more about diagnosed conditions and treatments to giving details of local health services. If you are calling from work, or somewhere with a switchboard, you may have to dial 0845 46 47 647