Just make sure you weren't the last person to see them. For anything that is more than "I've stubbed my toe" but less than "I'm still unconscious with blood spurting out of me", refer it to another professional. Have a list of duty chemists and say "this is the out-of-hours pharmacy tonight, go there and he will ask you a few questions and dispense what you need" (paracetamol, probably) Have a phone with a loudspeaker and call the NHS Direct* nurses or an over-the-phone out-of-hours GP service. Describe the situation (and call it a "cough" rather than "severe chest pain" like the patient would) and get *them* to dispense appropriate advice. Leave a card with the NHS-Direct phone number and patient-number on it. If necessary leave a card explaining in idiot's terms how to make an emergency appointment with their GP in the morning. Call psychiatric services and leave a message on their answering machine. Then it's their problem, and if they don't respond to the message on time, their fault. You know the system, I'm sure you can turn it to best advantage. (*I do realise that they are better known as NHS Re-direct, but maybe they'd react differently with an EMT on the other end of the phone?)