NHS Direct Launches Medicines Health Zone

The new zone gives users invaluable information about how to take medicines during specific times in life such as during breastfeeding, pregnancy and childhood but it also gives advice about vaccinations, the contraceptive pill and travel advice such as flying and hot weather.
The new zone also covers those recurring questions we have all asked at some time or other: what happens if I miss taking a dose and or take two; what are the side effects; how will alcohol, food or other medicines interact with my medicines?
The zone gives in-depth guides to common medicines and treatments (Medicines A to Z) including painkillers, cancer treatments, laxatives and antibiotics. It offers advice on how to take your medicines, including stopping medicines, using creams and ointments, and what to do before surgery; a guide to medicines law and regulation - including advice about buying over-the-counter and controlled medicines.
Anne Joshua, associate director of pharmacy, said: “We have introduced this new zone because of the increasing number of questions callers make to our telephone service, and are submitted to the online enquiry service, about medicines. Patients who are caring for themselves at home, or carers who may have concerns, are increasingly seeking reassurance and support from NHS Direct about how to use their medicines.
“A medicine label that says ‘take after food’ is often interpreted differently by patients. For example, if a busy worker regularly skips lunch and they need to take a dose of medicine three times a day, how should they manage this? A woman planning to become pregnant may be trying to understand what she should ask her GP about the medicines she regularly takes for a long term condition. How can she assess the risks and benefits?
“The zone is intended to draw together in one place information that will support patients managing their own medicines and linking them through to information about their condition.”
NHS Direct is applying to become an NHS Foundation Trust. 
To find out more, tell us your views and get involved by becoming a member, visit www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/foundationtrust
• About half of all calls to NHS Direct involve discussions about medicines.
• Each week over 2,000 requests for specific medicines information are handled by trained medicines information specialists with some of those calls referred directly to expert medicines information pharmacists.
• NHS Direct handles over 22,000 calls a day.  That’s over 8 million calls a year.
• The NHS Direct Online website (www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk) receives around 24 million visits a year.
• NHS Direct Interactive is available to around 18.9 million households with either Sky Digital TV or Freeview, 85% of all TV homes.
• NHS Direct employs over 3,000 staff, over 1,200 of whom are trained nurses.