Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Norman Lamb and Robert Jenrick

Tuesday 13th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

11. What proportion of 111 calls resulted in an ambulance being called in the most recent period for which figures are available.

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Norman Lamb)]

There were just short of 882,000 calls triaged by the NHS 111 service in England in November 2014, and 99,808 of the calls—11.3%—had an ambulance dispatched.

[Robert Jenrick]

I thank the Minister for that response, and I am grateful for the earlier response to my hon. Friend the Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes), which is very reassuring. Any Member who has spent time with paramedics, as I have in Newark, knows that this is a hot topic for them. So we would appreciate any extra reassurance the Minister can give that the algorithms that lie behind the 111 service, and the level of clinical involvement in it, can be improved, with experience, to create a sensible number of cases going to accident and emergency.

[Norman Lamb]

I pay enormous tribute to the paramedics, who are working under a lot of pressure. The survey results, which showed that about 27% of people who have used 111 say that they would have gone to A and E had it not been available, are a considerable reassurance. However, we need constantly to seek to improve the service, and the urgent and emergency care review pointed to refining the 111 service so that, ultimately, people could get access through to a GP, doctor or nurse, to ensure that they receive the right guidance at the right time.