NHS Direct helpline is to be scrapped

Aug 30 2010 by Nicola Juncar, The Journal

The Royal College of Nursing said it would be “shortsighted” of the Government to axe specialist nurses who work for NHS Direct.

RCN chief executive and general secretary, Dr Peter Carter, said: “The evidence suggests that the expert advice of nurses has kept 1.5 million people out of A&E, and saved the NHS £213m a year.

“It would be shortsighted to cut back on the experts who deliver these long-term savings.”

NHS Direct provides expert health advice, out-of-hours support for GPs and dental services, and telephone support for patients with long-term conditions.

The new 111 number, which hopes to ease pressure on 999, aims to provide health advice and information about out-of-hours GPs, walk-in centres, emergency dentists and 24-hour chemists.

Former deputy prime minister John Prescott has launched an online petition to save NHS Direct and hopes to get 100,000 signatures. He labelled the plans to replace the service as “madness”. A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “When NHS 111 is rolled out nationally, it will replace the NHS Direct 0845 46 47 telephone number.

“While NHS Direct will no longer exist as a separate phone number, many of the services provided by NHS Direct may be subsumed by the new NHS 111 service. 111 will give patients one easy-to-remember number to access non-emergency NHS healthcare wherever they are, 24 hours a day.”