Devon switched on its new NHS 111 service on Tuesday 3rd September at 11.00am. The Devon service is going to be managed over 5 years by the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. The Outof-Hours GP calls to Devon Doctors will be gradually migrated over to 111 between October 2013 and April2014. NHS Direct will end its operations in September this year shortly after the launch of 111 and all NHSDirect calls will go to 111 instead.
NHS 111 is a national initiative that is being rolled out across the country. It is a new three-digit dial
telephone service being introduced to make it easier for patients to access local health services, when they have an urgent need. NHS 111 is available 24-hours-a-day, 365 days a year. Calls from landlines and mobile phones are free.
When patients call 111 they will be assessed, given healthcare advice and directed to the local service that can help them – that could be an out-of-hours doctor,a walk-in centre, a community nurse, an emergency dentist or a late opening chemist. If an emergency ambulance is required then this will be arranged automatically.
The new NHS 111 service aims to improve public access to healthcare services and drive improvements in the way the NHS delivers care. NHS 111 can help us to make sure that people get their urgent care needs met in the right place at the right time.