This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
NHS 111 goes online despite opposition
Despite recent opposition and public calls by GP leaders for the service to be scrapped, NHS 111 national programme director Rob Bacon told a NHS 111 Focus on Futures audience in Manchester yesterday that it ‘has a long term future’. Local Medical Committee members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion to scrap the phone service, saying that the use of non-clinical call handlers has led to a risk-averse triage system that means more referrals to GPs and A&E.
NHS England’s aim is for the service to be available via the NHS Choices website, as part of a move to improve the integration of NHS 111 and NHS Choices, as outlined in the Personalised Health and Care Framework 2020.
NHS England’s director of digital technology Beverly Bryant, who was speaking at the Focus on Futures event, explained that as part of this process, the NHS is moving towards referring to NHS Choices as NHS.UK.
Deborah El-Sayed, head of multi-channel development for NHS 111, said: “From a user perspective what that means is they are agnostic. They go to one place that they recognise. NHS Choices currently gets 1.4 million unique users a day and that’s a significant number of people.”
The online tool is being developed in collaboration with technology consultancy firm Valtech and is currently being tested in waiting rooms at Sandwell and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group.
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