NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group’s Governing Body has confirmed that the new NHS 111 service can move to full public launch on Monday 28 October.
Following steady improvement in performance, the CCG as commissioner of the service, agreed that the NHS 111 service could take on 0845 NHS Direct calls 24/7 in the county from 16 September.
Since the NHS 111 call handling service started taking out of hours calls in February, the CCG has been working with the provider, Harmoni and other local healthcare partners to ensure continuous improvement in levels of service.
During the Spring and Summer, a number of steps were taken to strengthen resource and improve quality of service. This included increasing the pool of clinical advisors and call advisors and putting in place further targeted training which continues.
Paramedics have also been working closely with call advisors to make sure that ambulances are dispatched appropriately. In addition, call advice is being regularly reviewed and audited to ensure continuous learning.
There has been gradual improvement in the service including call response times, patient triage (assessment of patients) and reductions in the number of abandoned calls.
Clinical lead for the service at NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group, Dr Jeremy Welch said:
“We have seen steady improvement in the service and sustained levels of good performance over recent weeks. Patient safety and the quality of service that people in Gloucestershire receive is of paramount importance to us and it is important that every aspect of the 111 service is working to the high standards we expect.”
“We will continue to monitor 111 very closely and act on feedback from local healthcare professionals and the public.”