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NHS 111 data for September 2013

The NHS 111 data for September 2013 published today shows NHS 111 continues to provide a good service to the public and more people are getting access to the service.  93 percent of the population of England now have access to NHS111.

The data also shows that even more calls were answered promptly with 97.1 percent of callers answered within 60 seconds and of all calls offered only 0.7 percent were abandoned after waiting longer than 30 seconds . More people than ever called 111 – 585,305 calls were made to the service in September and levels of satisfaction the remain high.

In the last survey into satisfaction levels, 92 percent of people using the service were satisfied or highly satisfied with it:  People like former MP Phil Willis, now Lord Willis of Knaresborough, who told his story to his local paper the Harrogate Advertiser after he made a call to NHS 111 service provided by Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust  and the calm and collected expertise of the operator saved his life .

“ I’m very thankful said Lord Willis… “The 111 service has clearly come under fire.  But all I can do is compliment them.  “On the 9th of June, early on the Sunday morning I woke up having a heart attack.  My wife wanted to call an ambulance and I said no it’s not that serious.  I thought it was indigestion.

“We rang the 111 and immediately got through.  Within a minute of being on the phone the operator recognised what was happening . The response team arrived first followed by an ambulance and within 25 minutes I was in York District Hospital –  . I thought that was the most brilliant service.

Lord Willis went on to say: .”Rather than knock the service full stop we should look at  what is working.  The operator was well trained, he said, asking highly relevant questions, suggesting he take aspirin and offering to stay on the line with his wife  while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.”