15 Nov 2021

This self-care week (15-21 November) St Helens residents are being reminded that self-care doesn’t necessarily mean ‘do it yourself’.

 

As main health services such as GP practices, the Urgent Treatment Centre and A&E at Whiston Hospital are busier than ever, the best way to help avoid long waits is to prevent health and wellbeing issues getting to the point of needing medical help.

Self-care is the term used to describe just that, but it doesn’t mean you have to do all the work yourself.

Dr Michael Ejunoeatse, local GP and Medical Director at St Helens Clinical Commissioning Group, said “Being able to self-care for common illnesses like earache, sore throats and upset stomachs is really important.

“Symptoms of these illnesses usually go away in a few days and can be treated with medicine available over the counter from most supermarkets and pharmacies.

“We want to empower and help people take charge of their own health. Everyone can make small changes to their lifestyle to help improve their physical health and mental wellbeing, such as maintaining an active lifestyle, eating a well-balanced diet, drinking less alcohol and quitting smoking.”

Health and care workers across St Helens are backing the local ‘Let’s Do It Together’ campaign which aims to help direct people to the most appropriate health service for their need and means that A&E is kept freer for people who really need to be there.

Dr Ejuoneatse added, “We’d like to use self-care week to encourage people to talk to their local high street pharmacy or go online to find health advice at www.nhs.uk or call 111 free of charge.”

There will be lots of information over the course of the week shared on our St Helens CCG Facebook and Twitter pages which show you how to treat common illnesses and injuries at home and when you need to seek medical help. You can also visit: www.nhs.uk/conditions