NHS: Out of Hours Service

Baroness Emerton Excerpts

Tuesday 26th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

I am aware of teething problems in two particular areas of the country, but we know from the pilots of NHS 111 that there is a high rate of patient satisfaction with the service. As noble Lords will know, NHS 111 is designed to put the caller through to the right service first time around, whether it is a nurse, a doctor or an ambulance, if that is required. There are bound to be teething problems, and rolling out a service like this across the country is, of course, a major task. But the concept of increased flexible access to healthcare and advice is absolutely right, and we are determined to see the service work very well for everybody.

[Baroness Emerton]

My Lords, in his Answer to the original Question, the Minister said that action would be taken if the service failed. Who will actually take the action under the new system once the Act becomes actionable next weekend?

[Earl Howe]

Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning out-of-hours care and, of course, the CQC will be responsible for the first time for registering GP practices.