Health professionals assess record number of NHS 111 calls

Doctors, nurses, paramedics and healthcare professionals assessed a record number of calls to the NHS 111 helpline last month, new figures show.

A total of 1,194,505 calls to the service were answered in July, the equivalent of around 38,000 every day, NHS England said.

Around 1,040,000 queries from callers were triaged and 52.1% of these received input from a professional clinical adviser – the highest proportion since the helpline was introduced, according to the body.

All calls to NHS 111 are handled by trained staff but many callers now also receive clinical advice from medical professionals through the service.

NHS England said only one in 10 callers (10%) were advised to attend A&E last month and urged people to make use of the service if they need health advice over the bank holiday weekend.

Dr Gareth Stuttard, national medical adviser for the NHS 111 service, said: “Over the long weekend, anyone in need of help for a life-threatening emergency can continue to get it at their A&E.

“But with 16 million people using NHS 111 in the past year alone, and the fact that more than half of all calls last month were dealt with by a health professional, there are safe alternatives to A&E for less severe issues.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Our fantastic NHS 111 clinicians and call handlers answer over a million calls every month, helping patients with on-the-spot advice and relieving pressure on A&Es.

“Later this year, we will launch the new NHS app where patients will be able to get 111 advice on their smartphone as well as make GP appointments and order repeat prescriptions – revolutionising the way millions of us access healthcare as part of our long-term plan to guarantee the future of the NHS.”