Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of NHS 111 staff are clinically trained.

This information is not held centrally.

NHS 111 staff comprise clinical and non-clinical staff. Clinical staff includes registered nurses, paramedics, pharmacists, dental nurses and mental health practitioners.

The Licensing Requirements of NHS Pathways (the algorithm used by 111 services) stipulate that there must be sufficient clinician resource per shift to provide supervision to the number of call handlers on a shift. As an absolute minimum, there must be at least one accredited clinician physically present in the room on each shift.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has announced that it will inspect all NHS 111 providers by September 2016. This will provide assurance that minimum levels of quality are met. The CQC will look at staffing levels and skill mix and assess whether staff have the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.