GP out of hours service

The GP out of hours service is for people who need urgent medical treatment but cannot wait until their doctor's practice opens. The service is for terminally ill people, very sick children and frail elderly people. Dental out of hours service only treats people with dental pain, swelling or bleeding.

When you mustn't use the out of hours service

You don't use the GP out of hours service for:

repeat prescriptions
dental problems
minor ailments that a pharmacist can treat

Using the out of hours service

GP out of hours is available if you need urgent medical care when your GP surgery is closed.

GP out of hours services are:

6.00 pm on week days until your GP surgery opens the next morning
24 hours on Saturday and Sunday
24 hours on public holidays

You should telephone the out of hours service first. The doctor or nurse will assess you and:

give you advice by telephone
decide if you need to see a doctor
refer you to another service

If your condition is life-threatening, for example, a suspected heart attack or stroke, telephone 999 immediately and ask for an ambulance.

Contact out of hours service in your area

Organisation	Area/town	Telephone	Textphone
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust	North and West Belfast	028 9074 4447	18001 028 9074 4447
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust	South and East Belfast	028 9079 6220	18001 028 9079 6220
South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust	Ards and North Down	028 9182 2344	18001 028 9182 2344
South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust	Lisburn and Downpatrick	028 9260 2204	18001 028 9260 2204
Dalriada Urgent Care	Antrim Ballymena Ballymoney Cookstown Carrickfergus Coleraine Larne Magherafelt Moyle Newtownabbey council areas	028 2566 3500	18001 028 2566 3500
Southern Health and Social Care Trust	Armagh and Dungannon Craigavon and Banbridge Newry and Mourne	028 3839 9201	18001 028 3839 9201
Western Urgent Care	Enniskillen Omagh Strabane Derry/Londonderry Limavady	028 7186 5195	18001 028 7186 5195

Help for people in distress or despair

Lifeline is a crisis response free helpline available across Northern Ireland. It offers immediate help by telephone all day, every day if you or someone you know is in distress or despair.

If you or someone you know needs help now, you can contact Lifeline in confidence.

telephone number: 0808 808 8000
Mental health emergency - if you're in crisis or despair

Dental out of hours service

The dental out of hours service is for dental emergencies only including:

trauma
swelling
uncontrollable bleeding
severe pain

These dental clinics don't repair dentures or restore lost crowns or bridges. You may need to pay for dental treatment.

For clinic opening hours and information about when charges apply, go to:

Out of hours emergency dental treatment

GP out of hours service video

The video explains when to use the GP out of hours service in Northern Ireland.

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