People in vulnerable groups, such as very young children, older people,
people with certain health problems, and carers, may be able to receive an
inoculation against the flu from their GP or from a pharmacy.
Every year, around 57 million visits to the GP involve just minor health
problems. These take up around one hour of the average GP's time every working
day and cost the NHS around £2 billion. In many cases, these visits could have
been prevented had otherwise healthy people allowed flus or colds to wait for
the condition to run its course or had bought over-the-counter remedies at the
pharmacy.
In Darwen and Blackburn alone, around £600,000 is spent every year on
prescribing medicines for minor illnesses. No win no fee solicitors Blackburn
advise GPs to take care when dismissing someone's health problems as just minor
illnesses if they are convinced it is something more serious, but would ask
people to only visit the doctor if they think they have a long-lasting or
dangerous illness that they require specialist treatment for.
Coughs that persist for three to four weeks should be checked out by
doctors, Blackburn with Darwen Community Care Group Clinical Lead for Health
and Wellbeing and GP Dr Pervez Muzaffar said.
People with minor health problems are advised to drink lots of water, rest
and visit their pharmacy. Personal
injury solicitors Blackburn would advise them to take an absence from work
while they recover, as they could infect their colleagues if they go in to
work. Employers should also be amenable to reasonable requests for sickness
absence, as this will help them support the health and fitness of their
workforce.
