Most referrals to other specialists will require you seeing or speaking with a GP, however there are a number of services locally, listed below that you are able to make self-referrals to.

If your doctor has referred you to a specialist for further care you will be asked to book your appointment using the ‘NHS e-Referral’ system.

You will receive a letter from us within 2 weeks giving details of how to book your appointment and any passwords you may need.

To track your e-Referral you will need the following details to log into the e-Referral website:

• Your date of birth
• Reference number – this will be on the first page of your letter
• Password – this will be on the second page of your letter

To track an e-Referral, click here.

The health trainer service is here to help you make realistic lifestyle changes that are tailored to your needs:

• Healthy Food Choice
• Weight Management
• Increasing Physical Activity
• Drinking Less Alcohol
• Stopping Smoking

Here to help you make the right choices If you think the health trainer could help you on your journey you can Complete the contact form, call
01670 623 840 or email  healthtrainers@northumberland.gov.uk and a member of the team will come back to you.

Health Trainer - Walk and Talk Sessions.

• Held every Tuesday, meeting outside Haltwhistle Leisure Centre at 10:30am.
• It is open to people of all abilities aged 16+
• It is Free
• Short Casual Walk lasting no longer than 1 hour
• Afterwards have a chance to explore the Leisure Centre and stay to chat with something nice from the café.

Your doctor isn’t the only person who can help you feel better. There are many things that can affect your health and wellbeing, not only medical issues. When non-medical issues arise you may be referred to a Living Well Coordinator. The West Northumberland Living Well Coordination Service aims to offer support with your health and wellbeing and can help to connect you to a range of services.

The Living Well Coordination Service is an NHS service, provided by the West Northumberland Primary Care Network and delivered in partnership with Adapt (North East). LWC is a Social Prescribing service whose role is to help you to address the non-medical issues in your life that may be having an impact on your health and wellbeing.

As a non-clinical service, a coordinator will work together with you to identify your needs, discussing any issues you are facing and make a plan to support your wellbeing. They can coordinate support for you to address social and other non-medical issues such as emotional wellbeing, housing, financial resilience and benefits, employment and skills, healthy lifestyles, family issues and loneliness. Their main role is to connect you to appropriate forms of support from voluntary and community organisations and sometimes from NHS and other statutory services.

More info about the LWC service and a copy of the self referral form can be found here: https://adapt-ne.org.uk/index.php/living-well-coordination-service/#top

If you struggle with IT/emails then you can also ring the Adapt/LWC office number on 01434 600599 (option 4) and someone can book in some time to do a supported self-referral over the phone.

Northumberland Recovery Partnership (NRP) is a dedicated service for anyone in Northumberland, 18 years old or over, who is experiencing problems with drugs and alcohol.

They offer the following support which is tailored to help you on your recovery journey:

• Abstinence programmes – group and community-based 12 step programmes
• Harm reduction – safer injecting support and needle exchange
• Medical support including prescription of substitute medications and supporting detoxification programmes
• Dedicated Recovery Co-ordinator to motivate and support you through every stage of your recovery journey
• Recovery support – ongoing services to help with your next steps into employment, housing and health

Telephone: 01670 798 280 The opening hours are 9-5 Monday – Thursday and 9-4:30 on a Friday

NHS Northumberland Talking Therapies (formerly known as Talking Matters Northumberland) offers free psychological treatment for people aged 16 and over who have a GP in Northumberland. They offer one-to-one talking therapy for depression, anxiety, stress, and other mental health related problems. They also offer Couples Therapy for Depression

Should you be experiencing emotional or mental health issues that affect your daily living, employment, or wider health needs then NHS Northumberland Talking Therapies will almost certainly benefit you.

They provide free psychological treatment, support, and recovery to anyone in Northumberland experiencing common difficulties such as:

• Low mood and depression
• Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
• Stress
• Panic attacks
• Phobias
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Health Anxiety
• Social anxiety Disorder (SAD)
• Bereavement/loss
• Work-related stress
• Long-term health conditions (LTC)
• Sleep problems
• Relationships impacted by one or both partners having depression

Use one of the options to refer yourself to Talking Therapies:

• Call referral line on 0300 3030 700 and leave a message with a clear contact number so they can call you back to discuss the referral.

Opening hours: Monday-Thursday 8am-8pm, Friday 8am-5pm, Saturday 9am-1pm

• Click the below link for further information or to access Self-referral online form or by downloading and emailing to info@nhs.net

If you are wanting to stop smoking, this could be your first steps to kick the habit. The SmokeFree app is a great way to monitor and make changes to your lifestyle and stop smoking. The dashboard provides by-the-second updates of how much money you've saved, how long you've been smoke free and how many cigarettes you've not smoked. Enter the details of something you'd love and use the countdown clock to check exactly how long it will be before you can afford it then buy yourself a present for your hard work with the money you have saved.

See how your blood pressure, oxygen and carbon monoxide levels, taste, smell, breathing, energy levels, circulation and risk of lung cancer returns to normal.

Visit smokefreeapp.com to download your app and start your journey to healthier living.  

If you would like more information about local stop smoking services or to speak to an adviser please click the link below or telephone 01670 813135.

Why stop smoking?

• Every time you smoke, you damage your body
• Every draw from a cigarette introduces over 4000 toxins into your body.
• Every time you draw from a cigarette you fill your lungs with toxic smoke, your body becomes short of oxygen, and your blood becomes thicker. This places strain on your heart and increases your risk of cardiac problems.
• Tobacco smoke ages your lungs making their function decline sooner. COPD
• Smoking during pregnancy has severe consequences on the unborn child and often results in low birth weight, premature delivery, and reduced lung development for the child. It increases the risk of respiratory disorders during early and teenage years
• You'll be surprised at how quickly you see the benefits once you stub out that last cigarette. Your breathing and general fitness will improve, your skin will look better and your sense of taste will return.

e-cigarettes:

The Northumberland Stop Smoking Services now proactively welcome anyone who wants to use e-cigarettes as part of their quit attempt and increase their chance of success.

There has been an overall shift towards the inaccurate perception of e-cigarettes being as harmful as cigarettes over the last year in contrast to the current expert estimate that using e-cigarettes is around 95% safer than smoking. (Department of Health 2015)

If you are considering changing from smoking tobacco to, using an e-cigarette come along and chat with our advisor who will help you decide what type and strength of e-cigarette will be most appropriate for your level of smoking.

If you are using an e-cigarette and continue to smoke tobacco, come along and our advisor can help you to go completely tobacco free.

The Northumberland Joint Musculoskeletal and Pain Service is a partnership between Northumbria Healthcare and Connect Health:

Use one of the options to self-refer to JMAPS:

• Call 03301 244 652.
• Visit www.connecthealth.co.uk using Physio Now Self-referral online form
• Click this Page link

The Vasectomy Service at the Northumbria Sexual Health Service operates an open referral system. Gentlemen can refer themselves by ringing 01670 515151 or 0191 297 0441.