Experiences of urgent medical care in Shropshire
From December 2020, NHS England launched a new system called NHS 111 First. If you have an urgent, but not life-threatening, health problem you can now contact NHS 111 First to find out if you need to go to A&E.
The public are encouraged to call NHS 111 to be directed to the correct service, whether that is an Emergency Department (Accident & Emergency), their GP, or self-care. Callers to NHS 111 can now receive time slots at local Emergency Departments (EDs) or other urgent care departments, as well as receive time slots with GPs or out of hours GP services. The new service aims to reduce waiting times at EDs and limit the number of people in waiting rooms, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Initial findings in national research were showing that many people do not know that NHS 111 First could book them into the different services they may need.
Key Findings
- 75% of our respondents said they contacted NHS 111 first when they had an urgent medical need
First point of contact
- 6 people who contacted NHS 111 (33% of respondents) had an ambulance called for them
- 5 people who contacted NHS 111 (28% of respondents) were booked to attend other services to deal with the issue.
The carers experience
- 8 out of the 24 respondents were Carers. All carers who completed the report on behalf of someone else stated the service they received was 'good
Knowledge of NHS 111
- 15 out of 24 respondents said they did not know NHS 111 could book same day appointments.
- Of those who did know (6 people) they found out through local news and via the NHS direct.
Overall experience
- Knowing now that NHS 111 could book same day appointments, 17 of the 24 respondents were likely to call NHS 111 if they had another urgent problem. 5 people were unlikely.
- Overall, 13 out of the respondents rated their overall experience of NHS 111. 6 rated their experiences as good or very good whilst 5 rated their experience as poor or very poor.
