Understand health
Where to get medical help if your appointment is delayed or cancelled
You might find you're having to wait longer than usual for a medical appointment, or that some of your appointments are cancelled. Here are some other places that might be able to help.
Jump straight to:
- 999/A&E
- NHS 111
- A pharmacy
- Your GP
- Your specialist nurse
- Urgent treatment centres
- Our Heart Helpline
- PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service)
- Get support from other people with heart conditions
- I'm feeling anxious about my health - what can I do?
999 or A&E
We know that some ambulance services are experiencing delays at the moment. Instead of going straight to hospital yourself, calling 999 first is still the best course of action if you might be having a life-threatening emergency, such as heart attack or stroke, or struggling to breathe. There are a few important reasons for this:
- ambulance crews are trained to give certain emergency treatments and run important tests. One test, called an ECG, can tell them whether you are having a heart attack
- depending on your ECG result, paramedics could take you to the right specialist unit for your type of heart attack, increasing your survival chances
- finally, if your heart were to stop pumping on the way to hospital, the ambulance crew would attempt to resuscitate you then and there.
If the call handler thinks that you should do something different rather than wait for an ambulance, they will be able to tell you. For instance, if you’re in a serious condition but it doesn’t require an ambulance, then going to A&E may be the right approach.
Many A&E services have also been experiencing delays, so if your issue is not as serious, you can try one of the other options below instead. If in doubt, call 111 and a trained advisor can tell you what to do.
- See our guide to when to get medical help.
NHS 111
If you have an urgent medical problem that doesn't require calling 999, call 111 to speak to a fully trained adviser on the phone. You can ask for a translator if you need one.
The 111 service can:
- help you speak to a nurse, emergency dentist, pharmacist or GP if you need one
- get a face-to-face appointment if you need one
- tell you how to get any medicine you need
- give self-care advice
A pharmacy
Pharmacists are qualified healthcare professionals who train for five years in the use of medicines.
If you’re not sure whether you’re taking your medication correctly, or are concerned about side effects, or whether you can take a new medication or supplement with your existing medication, a pharmacist is a good person to ask.
They can also provide advice and over-the-counter medicines for a range of minor illnesses, and if it might be something more serious, they can advise you whether you need to see a GP, nurse or other healthcare professional.
Most pharmacies have a private consultation room where you can discuss issues privately. Many pharmacies are open late in the evening and at weekends – you don’t need an appointment.
Your GP
If you haven’t been able to get your usual appointment with your specialist, your GP may be able to offer advice, or refer you if you need to be seen more urgently by a specialist. The majority of heart conditions can be managed by your GP, as well as other issues such as problems with your medication.
We know that some people have trouble getting appointments with their GP – in that case, you might want to try one of the other options in this list instead.
Many GPs are still offering phone or video appointments.
- See our guide to phone or video appointments.
Supporting you to get the care you need
We know that many of you are experiencing delays to treatment at this time, or have questions and concerns about getting medical help. We've created this set of information to help you with these issues.
Your specialist nurse
If you have a specialist nurse such as a heart failure nurse, he or she should be able to help you with questions about your condition, your medication, or what to do if your symptoms are getting worse. They can give you tips on managing your condition. They can also link you to other services that might help you.
In some areas you might not have access to a specialist nurse. But if they are available, this can be particularly helpful if you are not getting your usual appointment with your hospital consultant.
Urgent care centres
Urgent care centres are GP-led centres that can deal with many of the non-life-threatening issues that you might go to A&E for.
Conditions that can be treated at an urgent treatment centre include sprains and strains, possible broken limbs and common illnesses like coughs and fevers.
Heart Helpline
Our experienced cardiac nurses on our Heart Helpline can help with questions and concerns about heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors. They can give you information about topics such as understanding heart and circulatory conditions, about medications and their side effects, recovering after a hospital stay, managing your condition, and understanding test results. They can't give you medical advice or be a substitute for your own healthcare professional. Whilst the Helpline nurses are not able to contact your healthcare provider on your behalf, they can provide you with information that might help you to do this.
You can get in touch by email, phone or live chat.
- Read more about our Heart Helpline and how to get in touch
PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service)
PALS is a free and confidential service that can support you with using the NHS. It can help you with questions, concerns or problems when you're using the NHS. It can also support you to get more involved in your own healthcare. Every hospital will have a PALs team, and PALS services can also support with other parts of the NHS, such as GP surgeries. If you feel like you're struggling to get the care you need, or you want to make a complaint about your care, PALS can be a good place to start.
You can find your nearest PALS office on the NHS website. You can also ask your GP surgery, hospital or phone 111 for details of your nearest PALS.
Get support from other people with heart conditions
Our online community on HealthUnlocked is a safe space to connect with other people affected by heart and circulatory diseases. It's free and you can be anonymous if you want to. The community can't give you medical advice or act as a substitute for your healthcare professional. But you may find it useful to share your experiences with other people in a similar position and get tips on what other people have found helpful. It’s also a great way to talk to other people who understand what it’s like to be affected by a heart condition.
I'm feeling anxious about my health - what can I do?
Lots of people are finding things difficult right now. It’s normal to be worried about your health, especially if you don't feel like you're getting the support that you need.
Here are some resources that you might find useful:
- Get support from the NHS for your mental health
- Find out how you can access talking therapy, if you're in England, through Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT)
- Get information from the mental health charity Mind about anxiety and panic attacks
- Get information from the Samaritans about what you can do if you're having a difficult time
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