Fife nurse features in new NHS advertising campaign

One of the stars of the ad is Julie-Ann Lindsay, a senior charge nurse with NHS 24, who helps people when they call 111 for urgent or out of hours medical care.

Julie said: “After what has probably been the busiest year of my professional life I really wanted to help people by reminding them to take a few small steps to look after themselves and their family this winter. Taking part in the TV ad was a good opportunity to do that.

“Our campaign encourages things like keeping things like paracetamol and ibuprofen at home, making sure you’re up to date with any repeat prescriptions in plenty of time, and even taking a bit of time to get familiar with our health information site NHS Inform, which has a number of self-help guides. Each of these steps means you can hopefully avoid illness becoming a problem over winter.”

The festive period is always busy for NHS 24, and in 2019 they answered over 122,000 calls over the eight day period.

This Christmas looks to be even busier, and it comes at the end of what has already been a tough year for Julie and her staff.

She said: “When the COVID cases began to rise the first place I wanted to be was in work, offering support to the general public. It’s been a hard job- hearing from families who have each become unwell, and managing my own family’s health, has been a humbling experience.

“No one likes becoming unwell over Christmas, and we will always be available if you need to get in touch. However, these small steps can mean you can relax a little – which I think we could all use right now – and hopefully avoid needing to pick up the phone. It was a freezing cold day for filming our ad, but I think the message is worth it!”

General advice and information on how to stay healthy this winter can be found at www.nhsinform.scot/winter.