Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the minimum training standards were for new call handlers recruited to the NHS 111 service in response to the covid-19 outbreak in March and April 2020.
All call handlers recruited to the NHS 111 COVID-19 Response Service are trained by accredited National Health Service staff and supported by experienced clinicians. They receive mandatory training in areas including safeguarding and patient data privacy, as well as a comprehensive training course on the COVID-19 clinical pathway and must pass an assessment before taking any live calls.
COVID-19 call handlers use an internal online tool for guidance, which is continually updated as more becomes known about the virus. This guidance is subject to stringent clinical review and approval before use to ensure its accuracy.