Agnes Erskine is a Charge Nurse who works at the minor injuries unit at Kello Hospital in Biggar. She is also a NHS Lanarkshire ‘Meet the Expert’ who appeared in one of a series of light-hearted films produced to help inform people about the range of available health services they can use.
Agnes explains: “Your local minor injuries clinic is the best place to drop-in for help with everything from sprains, strains and stings to burns, bites and bumps. We’re open seven days a week all year round and you don’t need to make an appointment.”
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Visiting a local health expert is a much faster and easier way for people to get the health help they need, without having to see their GP first or spending hours waiting in A&E.
The other experts include a dentist, optician, and physiotherapist. Local pharmacists are also an effective one-stop-shop for advice.
The NHS Lanarkshire website also features a new film on ‘self-care’, often the simplest way to treat a minor illnesses and injuries like a cough, sore throat or a burn, and provides details on national services like NHS Inform and NHS24.
John Keaney, Divisional Medical Director for NHS Lanarkshire’s Acute Services, said: “If people take advantage of the expert help on their doorstep, then A&E departments can be kept free to treat patients facing serious health problems.”