The 111 service, replacing NHS Direct, is due to launch in England on Monday.
Anybody with severe symptoms is urged to contact their GP or NHS Direct services.
The non-emergency number combines the old NHS Direct service with surgeries' own out-of-hours arrangements.
BBC: NHS postpones West region out-of-hours GP helpline launch
Mrs Hirst then phoned NHS Direct for advice and they alerted paramedics and the police.
The service will replace NHS Direct, which the government announced it was scrapping last year.
But Health Secretary John Reid said NHS Direct provided an excellent service, which had helped saved lives.
Initially launched as an out-of-hours line, the service has now reverted to the former NHS Direct number.
Details of the 137 pharmacies across Wales chosen to provide the vaccine are available from NHS Direct.
BBC: Flu jab given at some pharmacies in Wales for first time
Bosses urged people to see their GP or call NHS Direct before visiting its accident and emergency department.
More than 3, 000 people work at NHS Direct at contact centres and offices.
The new 111 non-emergency telephone advice line is expected to replace NHS Direct in dealing with non-emergency calls in June.
Anglian Water advises customers with worries about their health to contact their GP or call NHS Direct on 0845 4647.
He said the NHS Direct nurses should be based in the out-of-hours centre so they could consult GPs over decisions.
The government says the NHS Direct helpline should be able to give details of a dentist accepting NHS patients in England.
Skilled nurses were being lost to NHS Direct and walk-in centres which offer employees a more attractive lifestyle, the spokesperson said.
Unison added that nurses allowed more than half of the 12, 000 callers to NHS Direct to manage their conditions at home.
The spokeswoman said detailed plans had been made to ensure NHS Direct was prepared for the demand over the holiday break.
People without life-threatening conditions have been urged to use walk-in centres, out-of-hours GP services or NHS Direct over the festive period.
Chair of the assembly audit committee, Jonathan Morgan AM, said NHS Direct Wales should be recognised as central to the health service.
The government says NHS Direct is expected to "retain a role" in its the delivery, staffed by call advisers supported by nurses.
Also, a higher proportion of calls to NHS Direct were about flu.
Helen Parker, editor of Which? magazine, said an investigation it had carried out into NHS Direct had found "fundamental problems" with the service.
According to NHS Direct, this type of attack is often referred to as a mini-stoke because the symptoms often resemble a full stroke.
At busy times, the union claims, that can mean callers to NHS Direct Wales having to wait longer for their calls to be answered.
BBC: NHS Direct Wales 'turned off' for 999 calls, Unison claims
Critics claimed the decision to scrap NHS Direct would undermine the quality of the service by reducing the number of qualified nurses answering calls.
Unison said that once calls are transferred to the NHS Direct Wales queue they effectively take priority over other calls waiting for a call back.
BBC: NHS Direct Wales 'turned off' for 999 calls, Unison claims
But Dr Richard Fairhurst, medical director of NHS Direct in the area, criticised the doctors for releasing the figures of what was a joint survey.
Dr John Chisholm, chairman of the British Medical Association's GP Committee, said NHS Direct could make an "important contribution" to easing the demand for GPs.
The shift in patient behaviour may help alleviate pressure on hospitals and GP surgeries, according to Leanne Hawker, who helps manage the NHS Direct Wales site.
Since its launch last April, NHS Direct has taken more than 800, 000 calls and is expected to reach a million by the end of the year.
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