Busy time for local doctor-on-call over Christmas

THEY are the doctors you turn to when everyone else is gone home for the day, and NEDOC (North East Doctor On Call) had a very busy Christmas and New Year in 2018.

From Friday 21st December until 2nd January, the out of hours GP service managed over 5,300 contacts from patients, of which almost 3,600 (67%) were seen via appointment in their treatment centres, and 1,340 (25%) were managed with nurse advice, and a further 240 patients were seen at home. The number of patients seen by GPs in the centres was on a par with 2017 consultations when the service received over 6,000 contacts from patients.

Over Christmas days (24th-27th December) NEDOC received 1,240 calls, of which 840 (68%) were seen in treatment centres; 300 were triaged by nurses (24%); 30 were triaged by doctors (2%) and 72 patients were seen at home (5%).

Christmas Day saw 206 patients seen in the four treatment centres (76 in Navan, 54 in Drogheda, 39 in Cavan and 40 in Blaney) and St Stephen’s Day 474 patients from the hours of 8am until Midnight, with Drogheda almost 150. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day were also busy as the service managed over 700 calls, with 460 patient seen in the centre between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.