Free for you Dr Rob Hicks Never before have there been so many ways to get hold of free expert health information at home. We look at the most useful sources.

In this article

Your GP NHS Direct

Your nurse Others

The internet

Our GPs are often the first people we turn to when we need help. Traditionally, we saw the same GP at every visit, but these days you may see any of the doctors at the practice, unless you specify a particular one.

If you need advice out of hours (overnight or at the weekend, for example) it's even more likely that you'll talk to another doctor, perhaps even from another practice. Some doctors take it in turns to look after each other's patients on a local rota.

More recently, larger groups of doctors have formed cooperatives to provide advice to patients over the phone, visiting them at home if necessary. These GPs still work within the NHS and have their own practices, but sign up to work shifts covering out-of-hours periods.

NHS Direct (in England and Wales) and NHS 24 (in Scotland) are 24-hour, nurse-led health advice lines. In addition to providing medical advice over the phone when you need it, they also provide information such as the location of your nearest pharmacy and its opening hours, or GPs in your area.

NHS Direct
Tel: 0845 4647
Website: www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

NHS Direct Wales
0845 4647
Website: www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk

NHS 24
Tel: 08454 242424
Website: www.nhs24.com

Most GP surgeries have practice nurses, who often offer telephone advice to patients. They can advise on a wide variety of concerns, including emergency contraception, your baby's immunisations and holiday vaccinations.

A practice, community or district nurse can visit patients at home if they're unable to come to the surgery. District nurses may also visit if you need a dressing changed after an operation or to administer medicines.

In some areas, physiotherapists and occupational therapists visit people at home, as might the local pharmacist if they provide a home delivery service.

Midwives visit women at home if they've requested a home birth, and visit all new mothers in the first ten days after the birth. After this, a health visitor - another trained nurse - will come round regularly.

Health visitors are responsible for children until they reach the age of five and are a great source of help and advice for new parents. Whether you're having problems with feeding or sleeping, or need advice on clothing and bathing, health visitors can help.

For people with mental health conditions, a psychiatrist may visit them at home as will their community psychiatric nurse (CPN).

Probably the most rapidly growing source of health information and advice is the internet. Most UK charities, associations and other organisations have recognised the potential of the web and developed their own sites to provide information. We've got advice on how to find trustworthy health information on the net.

This article was last medically reviewed by Dr Rob Hicks in February 2007.