Most still use A&E over 111

NINE in ten Britons agree that help from GP and A&E services should be sought only when essential – but nearly half admit to using both for minor conditions such as coughs and colds, a survey has found.

Over the past 12 months, more than a third of the 5,000 adults questioned visited a GP, and 12 per cent went directly to A&E for self-treatable illness, which also included hay fever.

NHS 111 is the number to call for medical help or advice in non-life-threatening situations.

The Proprietary Association of Great Britain study found that eight in ten respondents knew about the 111 service but only a third used it

Twelve per cent of those questioned said they would never use the service, with those aged 65 to 75 more likely to visit their GP or nurse practitioner for advice. MILLIONS use fish-oil supplements, rich in healthy omega 3 oil, to bolster heart, brain and joint health. Now, an unlikely non-animal source of these beneficial fats has been found in a weed first found growing in hedgerows.

The plant, above, is commonly known as gromwell or wheat thief and in 2015 the first crop – rebranded as Ahi Flower – was grown in the UK.

It contains the highest concentration of natural omega 3s of all plant-based sources. Extracts are being used in a new vegetarian ‘fish-oil’ supplement, Vertise Ahiflower Oil.

Plant sources do not contain the omega 3 compounds DHA and EPA, found in fish and which are responsible for most of the health benefits, but other forms of omega 3 in Ahi Flower are converted well by the body into EPA.