Agenda item

7.1       Standing Orders were suspended at 9.25pm.

7.2      Tom Bunting, 111 Post Mobilisation Project Manager, NHS South East London Collaborative Commissioning, presented the report, and the following key points were noted:

·         NHS 111 was launched in Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.

·         There were some initial problems with the service once live, and NHS South East London CCGs have been working to improve the service. They are working to National Quality Standards in terms of service performance.

·         Since the beginning of April:

o   Over 95% of calls are answered by a health advisor within 60 seconds

o   Call abandonment rates have effectively sat at 0%

o   Of the total number of calls referred to a clinical adviser (25-35% of triaged calls), around 12-13% are put into a queue for a call-back from a clinician.

o   Approximately 60-70% of these call-backs to patients are made within ten minutes of the initial call to 111

o   10-12% of calls have resulted in an ambulance being dispatched

o   Around 75-80% of these dispatches are conveyed by LAS

·         Commissioners in Lewisham, Southwark and Lambeth are seeking assurance from the 111 Provider that the service could operate at an effective level with the launch of the service in these three boroughs in addition to Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich. 

·         There is a national review by NHS England on the launch of NHS 111. This is because of poor performance issues that have been reported in some parts of the country. The outcome of the review could mean that NHS England will make changes to the way in which the service is commissioned, the way it operates and how it is fully rolled out around the country.

·         It is felt it is not practicable to roll out NHS 111 to Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham until the assurance is provided and the Review is completed. SELDOC (South East London Doctors Co-operative) is still in operation to take calls from patients, and approximately 20-25% of calls to NHS 111 are SELDOC referrals.

7.3       In response to questions, the Committee were informed that:

·         NHS 111 local contract was initially a 2-year pilot, due to be reviewed in March 2015.

·         NHS 111 is a free service, and all that is required to be free on a pre-paid mobile phone is 1p credit. If someone tries to ring the old NHS Direct number, they will be prompted to ring NHS 111 even in the Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham area where the service has not been rolled out yet or publicised.

·         If patients ring SELDOC, they will be triaged to the appropriate service.

·         Health practitioners are looking at the statistics in respect of whether A&E attendance has been affected since the introduction of NHS 111. However there is only anecdotal rather than empirical evidence at present that there has been an increase in A&E attendance in London over the past year.

·         SELDOC managed the process effectively, so the closure of NHS Direct did not adversely affect local services.

7.4       RESOLVED: that the Report be noted, and the Committee is kept updated on NHS 111, its introduction in Lewisham and its general performance.