As medical services are under pressure, Hywel Dda Health Board urges patients to choose how they access services carefully, so that emergency departments (A&E) are only seeing people with urgent or emergency care.

Unwell and unsure what to do?

If you are unwell and unsure what to do, you can visit the online symptom checker to cross-check your symptoms against a number of common ailments and if directed call NHS 111 Wales.

When to attend an emergency department (A&E)

Only attend an Emergency Department if you have a life-threatening illness or serious injury, such as:

When to attend a Minor Injuries Unit (MIU)

If you have a less serious injury, then please visit one of the Minor Injury Units. They can treat adults and children over 12-months of age, with injuries such as:

There are minor injury or walk-in services at Cardigan Integrated Care Centre, Tenby Hospital as well as at the main acute hospitals. For opening hours and journey planners, please check the Minor Injuries Unit page.

Urgent care but not an emergency

If you have urgent care needs that cannot wait but are not 999 emergencies, dial 111 for NHS Direct Wales for health advice and support. The number is free to call and this service is available even when your GP surgery is open. 111 is also the number you need to access out-of-hours GP services across this area.

You can find out more about alternative services on the Urgent and out of hours page.

Urgent mental health support

If you need to talk to someone urgently about your mental health, or you’re concerned about a family member, call NHS 111 Wales and select option 2. You will be connected directly to a mental health professional in your area. The number is free to call from a landline or mobile, even if you have no credit on your phone.

Accessing care in your community

Many community pharmacies can also provide walk-in, common ailment or triage and treat services without an appointment. Find further information on our Pharmacy web pages.

Your pharmacist can also provide free confidential NHS advice and treatment for a range of common ailments without you having to make an appointment to see your GP.

The list of common ailments includes: indigestion, constipation, diarrhoea, piles, hay fever, head lice, teething, nappy rash, colic, chicken pox, threadworms, sore throat, athlete’s foot, eye infections, conjunctivitis, intertrigo, mouth ulcers, cold sores, acne, dry skin/dermatitis, ringworm, verruca, back pain, ingrowing toenails, vaginal thrush, oral thrush and scabies.

A list of pharmacies that participate in the Common Ailments Service is available on our Common ailments service pages.

Staying in hospital for as little as possible

Together with our partners in local authorities, the third sector and Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Hywel Dda UHB’s focus is on making sure that only the patients who need to be are in their acute hospitals and busy emergency departments. The board also needs to reduce the amount of time patients need to spend in a hospital bed, by providing as much non-emergency and follow up care outside of the hospital environment as possible.

If you have a friend, family member or loved one who is medically well enough to be discharged from hospital, please help us by coming to pick them up promptly. This will allow beds to be freed up more quickly for acutely unwell patients and keep the patient flow steady through the hospitals of Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.

To find out more about the inpatient experience, visit: Inpatient information pages.