As you know, the new NHS 111 Clinical Assessment Service will begin in North East London on 1 August 2018.
Over the last few months, London Ambulance Service, who will be delivering the service, have been speaking to GPs and practice managers to explain what it offers and responding to your questions. Please see the FAQs about the new service attached below.
The new service is now the key point of contact for anyone who requires urgent care advice or treatment outside of normal GP practice opening hours. It means people will get the right care, in the right place, first time.
The service is joined up with other urgent care services such as GP practices, GP hubs, mental health services, and pharmacies across the area. It will also take calls which currently go through three local out-of-hours services. For people who live in Newham, Tower Hamlets, and City and Hackney, this will mean that they will now call NHS 111 instead of a separate out-of-hours GP phone number.
The new service will provide:
Please help us to raise awareness of the service with your patients, reminding them to call NHS 111 if they need urgent treatment advice when your practice is closed. Please update your telephone messages and information on your website to reflect the change in number. We will also be providing GP practices with a NHS 111 poster which we would appreciate you displaying in your waiting rooms.
For more information please contact Kirsty Boettcher k.boettcher@nhs.net.
Thank you for your support.
The call will be answered by a call handler who has been trained to use the NHS’s clinical assessment tool. If further clinical advice or assessment is needed the call handler will transfer the call to the appropriate clinician which will include GP’s, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists.
The call will be answered by a call handler who has been trained to use the NHS’s clinical assessment tool. If further clinical advice or assessment is needed the call handler will then transfer the call to the appropriate clinician which will include GP’s, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists. In addition to this calls relating to people aged under 1 and over 75 will go directly through to a clinician.
As part of the new NHS 111 Clinical Assessment Service, if it is indicated that a home visit is required the service will be able to book an appointment for the patient to be seen at home.
As part of the new NHS 111 Clinical Assessment Service, if it is indicated after a clinical assessment that a face to face appointment is required the person will be booked / or directed into the most appropriate setting according to their need, with more appointments becoming available over the coming months.
Yes, NHS 111 Online, is a national website which asks the same questions as the 111 phone service and provides tailored advice, treatment recommendation, or call back from a healthcare professional where appropriate. It directs people to the right service or treatment, first time, and includes a map to show nearest recommended urgent care service, contact details and opening hours.
The service is already available in Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest. It will extend in August to City and Hackney, Newham, and Tower Hamlets.
Yes, in City and Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Newham patients will call 111 instead of the current out of hours GP service from 1 August.
Practices will need to ensure that the practice website, any leaflets and any other practice specific promotional literature reflects the new GP out of hour arrangements – that patients should call NHS 111.
London Ambulance Service is setting up a patient reference group to provide a patients’ voice to the new service. The group will provide feedback, advice, and work with LAS to help ensure they deliver a high-quality service that meets the needs of local people.
Translation services are available for callers who ring NHS 111.
NHS 111 Online is not available in languages other than English. This is in keeping with NHS England Accessible Information and Communication Policy. NHS Digital have written the questions on the website so users can read and answer them easily, even with limited English-language skills. Translation services are available for callers who ring NHS 111.
For Newham, Tower Hamlets, and City and Hackney GP practices, the Alliance has produced some guidance on what should be included as part of the answerphone message once the practice is closed, which should be along the following lines:
“Thank you for calling (state practice name). The practice is now closed. Our opening hours are (state opening times).
If you are having breathing difficulties, chest pain or any other life threatening emergency please disconnect from this call immediately and dial 999.
If you require urgent medical advice outside of the practice opening hours, please dial 111 who will be able to direct you to the appropriate service.
You will now be disconnected from this call.”
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