Call centre chaos as NHS service is shut down

[Northerner]

Lancashire?s out-of-hours patient service has been thrown into chaos after a call centre takeover.

Several local Primary Care Trust-run call centres for the NHS 111 service were shut down at midnight on Wednesday, including one in Preston, with an NHS Direct call centre in Middlebrook, Bolton, taking over the service for the whole of Lancashire and South Cumbria.

But the switch has caused long delays, with reports of some 60 second response calls not being taken for hours, and worried patients taking themselves to hospital instead.

MPs have called for immediate action, claiming it is ?a complete scandal? affecting the most vulnerable in society.

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/health/local/call-centre-chaos-as-nhs-service-is-shut-down-1-5525284

 

[mcdonagh47]

Lancashire’s out-of-hours patient service has been thrown into chaos after a call centre takeover.

Several local Primary Care Trust-run call centres for the NHS 111 service were shut down at midnight on Wednesday, including one in Preston, with an NHS Direct call centre in Middlebrook, Bolton, taking over the service for the whole of Lancashire and South Cumbria.

But the switch has caused long delays, with reports of some 60 second response calls not being taken for hours, and worried patients taking themselves to hospital instead.

MPs have called for immediate action, claiming it is “a complete scandal” affecting the most vulnerable in society.

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/health/local/call-centre-chaos-as-nhs-service-is-shut-down-1-5525284

Middlebrook is an out of town Shopping Mall on the motorway, difficult to believe any medical services are being run from there.

But hang on this DMail piece says the NHS 111 service has been reduced nationally from 30 call centres to just 6 so its not just Lancashire and your service will also be compromised, with 1500 nurses sacked from the service.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2230584/NHS-Direct-close-24-30-centres-claims-union.html