The NHS 111 phone helpline has plunged accident and emergency units into chaos by sending 6,000 extra callers a WEEK for walk-in hospital treatment. The number of people who were advised to go to A&E in the 2013-14 financial year was 526,500, the Government revealed. But in eight months to November last year – before this winter’s crisis – the figure had ballooned to 515,500, an average extra 6,000 a week. The 111 helpline replaced the popular NHS Direct in 2010 and in its first eight months only 7,400 people were told to go to A&E, writes Nigel Nelson in the Sunday People. Doctors blame unqualified 111 call handlers for tipping A&Es into meltdown. NHS Direct call lines had been manned by medically qualified staff. Earlier this month every NHS trust in England failed to meet its emergency care targets. In the lead-up to Christmas, more than 400,000 patients had to wait longer than the target four hours to be seen.
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http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/britains-ae-units-sent-meltdown-4998228
Chaotic: Doctors say call handlers are not qualified to decide whether people require A&E treatment
Filed under: A&E, Uncategorized, 111, A&E
