North Mid pilot for 111 First supports London-wide roll out
A new scheme announced today by NHS England and Improvement will see Londoners asked to use ‘111 First’ before going to an A&E department in the capital, after a pilot at North Mid and five other hospital sites tested the proof of concept.
As the home of the busiest A&E in London, North Mid was the ideal location for testing 111 First before it rolls out to all 27 emergency departments across the capital.
Two booked time slots every hour 8am - 8pm
The scheme aims to help direct patients to the most appropriate urgent or emergency service for their needs, and reduce the need to spend unnecessary time in A&E waiting rooms. If A&E is the right place for their care, NHS 111 can book them a time slot to attend, and North Mid has two slots for these ‘heralded patients’ every hour between 8am – 8pm.
111 can also book direct appointments with callers at a range of other health services, including urgent treatment centres, their own GP, dentists, pharmacies and specialised mental health crisis centres, or despatch ambulance if the patient actually needs it.
Reduce time spent in crowded waiting areas
The aim is to reduce non-essential attendances to A&E, as well as to help limit the number of patients in waiting areas. The early alert also allows for patients who are shielding to have arrangements put in place to keep them safe.
Chief operating officer Andy Heeps said:
“We regularly see more than 600 people a day come through the doors of our A&E, so it’s no surprise that the local health and care system was keen to trial the new 111First scheme at North Mid. We’ve been running the pilot for a month, and although it’s still early to see a significant impact in numbers, the new publicity around the scheme could really help see it come into its own.”
To support the successful implementation of 111First, NHS111 is expanding its capacity, with more than 150 extra clinicians, and nearly 650 more staff in total, to meet the demand of the new ‘call first’ approach. 111First rolls out to the Royal Free hospital from November, and to all 27 A&E sites by 1 December 2020.