The National Poisons Information Centre (NPIC) provides telephone information and advice 24 hours a day to assist in the treatment of poisoning.

We received a total of 9816 enquiries in 2013; 9520 enquiries were about human poisoning. The remainder were non-emergency requests for general information and enquiries about animal poisoning. Most of our enquiries (71%) are from healthcare professionals in hospitals, community pharmacies and GP/GP Co-Ops. 28% of our calls were from members of the public with the remainder from other sources such as nursing homes, schools, and veterinary practices. Overall, 64% of human cases related to accidental poisonings and 17% related to intentional self-poisoning or recreational abuse.