Experiences of urgent medical care in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin
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Healthwatch Shropshire and Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin wanted to gather the views and experiences of people who have used NHS 111 First to understand how they were helped to access services, their awareness of NHS 111 First and their intentions to use it in future. They carried out an initial survey in spring 2021 and wanted to know how things may have changed since that survey. They heard from 181 people.
Nearly half said they contacted NHS 111 first when they had an urgent medical need, compared to nearly three in five in the same survey carried out in Shropshire in Spring 2021.
Over two in five who contacted NHS 111 rated their experience as ‘Very Good’ or ‘Good’. (This compares to 69% of those who completed the same survey in Shropshire in Spring 2021.) Nearly one third of people rated their experience as ‘very poor’.
The two issues that were most frequently raised by people who rated NHS 111 as poor or very poor were calls not being answered in a timely manner and long waits for call backs from the service.
Just over a quarter were booked into appointments with other services. Of these, nearly three in five rated it as good or very good. Only 17% felt they were seen more quickly than expected. However over four in five would contact NHS 111 again if a booked appointment could be made for them.
Nearly four out of give people who contacted NHS 111 on behalf of someone they cared for were able to discuss the patient’s needs with the call operator.
Over half were not aware that NHS 111 First could book them appointments with their GP, A&E and at Urgent Treatment Centres.
Over half were ‘very likely’ or ‘somewhat likely’ to contact NHS 111 the next time they were seeking urgent medical care, this compares to a figure of 71% in the spring Shropshire survey.
Over half rated their treatment as ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’, compared to 78% in the spring.
People felt that the two most important criteria for seeking urgent medical care were their issue being solved quickly and seeing someone who is well qualified/a specialist.
The report includes a response from the provider.