HEALTH chiefs have come up with a scheme which they hope will prove a tonic for under-pressure GPs - and for children with flu and colds.
Middlesbrough Primary Care Trust (PCT) has joined forces with local chemists to ensure children with common winter ailments are able to receive medication without needing to see a doctor.
Winter Health First Aid Kits, giving details of the scheme and tips on treating minor ailments will soon be dropping though 80,000 letter boxes across Middlesbrough and Eston.
Included facts about winter maladies such as coughs, sore throats and earache, tips on how to manage them and information on antibiotics.
The treatments are free of charge if the child is registered with a GP in the Middlesbrough PCT area.
Jo Linton, head of medicines management at Middlesbrough PCT said: "This kit is designed to give patients useful information about winter ailments and to let them know when they do and don't need to see their GP.
"I hope that the winter ailments scheme for children is successful and that parents find it a useful way to obtain treatment quickly and easily for common winter illnesses for their children.''
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