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Rolling out NHS 111
Deputy NHS Chief Executive and National Director for Improvement and Efficiency ask strategic health authorities to confirm their plans for the full roll-out of the NHS 111 service in each region by April 2013.
David Flory (Deputy NHS Chief Executive) and Jim Easton (National Director for Improvement and Efficiency) have written to SHAs to seek confirmation of plans for full roll-out of the NHS 111 service in their regions, including go-live dates, details of geography covered, and preferred operating models.
This follows plans by the Secretary of State for Health to roll out NHS 111 nationally by April 2013.
NHS 111 has been live in four pilot areas since 2010 - County Durham and Darlington, Nottingham City, Lincolnshire and Luton. The pilots are being independently evaluated by University of Sheffield over the course of a year of live operation.
According to the letter by David Flory and Jim Easton, these pilots ‘are all performing well, with County Durham & Darlington showing a significant decrease in A&E attendances. Just as importantly, patient satisfaction with the service is high in all areas.’
Ten additional pilot sites are launching this year, and a further five areas are due to launch full procurements this year.
‘We would now like to invite those areas that have not yet committed to go-live or procurement dates for NHS 111, to confirm their plans. In doing so, we would like SHAs to oversee planning and implementation, ensuring that full coverage of their region is planned in line with the national specification, and with full support of local Clinical Commissioning Groups and PCTs. The NHS Operations Board have agreed that any area not able to confirm a go-live date for either piloting or procurement will be automatically opted-in to a service provided by NHS Direct, in partnership with local ambulance trusts and out of hours organisations, until such a time that they are able to make alternative arrangements.’
The letter highlights that the Department will not mandate specific content or software for NHS 111: ‘Local commissioning groups and clinicians should also take the lead in ensuring that effective clinical governance arrangements are in place, and can ensure the safety of the whole patient pathway, not just the NHS 111 call handling service.’
Professor Matthew Cooke, the National Clinical Director for Urgent & Emergency Care, has been tasked with working with local commissioning groups to provide support, help and advice in developing these arrangements.
About NHS 111
NHS 111 is a new service being introduced to make it easier for the public to access local NHS healthcare services. Citizens that live in Luton, County Durham and Darlington, Lincolnshire, or Nottingham City, can now call 111 when they need medical help fast, but it isn’t a 999 emergency.
