Experiences and opinions of NHS 111 First in Northamptonshire
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With NHS Northamptonshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Healthwatch North and West Northamptonshire sought to find out what people thought of this new service and to hear the experiences of those who had used NHS 111 since the new service began. They were particularly interested in hearing the experiences of those who had phoned NHS 111 and been given a time slot to attend A&E. 131 people responded in total
Nine of the people Healthwatch spoke to had this experience and were mostly positive about the service provided by 111 and A&E. They also felt that the time they had to wait to be seen in A&E was reasonable and gave some suggestions about how the experience could run more smoothly, including having a separate reception in A&E.
They also heard from those who had phoned 111 but were not given a time slot for A&E as other outcomes were more appropriate, such as an ambulance being sent.
Four of the eight people interviewed had experienced communication difficulties when using 111 on the phone and online and made suggestions for how the service could be improved for people with difficulty hearing or understanding. Survey respondents with a hearing impairment or hearing loss also highlighted the difficulties they faced accessing a telephone-based service.
The majority of both those who had needed urgent care recently, and those who had not, thought that contacting NHS 111 First to book a time slot at A&E before attending was a good way of accessing urgent healthcare services, although more of those with a hearing or sight impairment had concerns.
Over three-quarters of all survey respondents said they were likely to call NHS 111 next time they had an urgent medical problem.
Comments from those who thought the new system was a good idea showed a belief that having a time slot booked could reduce the time they had to wait. However, some of those who had used the new system did not feel that the waiting time was reduced, highlighting a need to clarify what people could expect from this aspect of the service.
The report contains four recommendations and a response from the CCG.