Outside normal surgery hours you can still phone your GP surgery, but you'll usually be directed to an out-of-hours service. The out-of-hours period is from 6.30pm to 8.00am on weekdays and all day at weekends and on bank holidays.

If it is not an immediate emergency then call NHS 111. NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It can provide medical advice and details of the best local service that can provide care. Telephone consultations and triage (an assessment of how urgent your medical problem is) are an important part of all out-of-hours care.

GPs can choose whether to provide 24-hour care for their patients or to transfer responsibility for out-of-hours services to the relevant NHS England Area Team.

Area Teams are responsible for providing a high-quality service for the local population. Some Area Teams provide care themselves. Others provide care through external organisations. This means different areas can have slightly different services.