Retendering NHS 111 contracts could cost millions

111 line replaced NHS Direct as the amount to phone for urgent but non-emergency care. Photograph: Alamy

The bungled launch of the NHS 111 support is likely to cost the health service millions of pounds, in accordance to an investigation by the British Health-related Journal (BMJ).

The services was thrown into turmoil last July soon after one particular of the major providers, NHS Direct, announced it planned to pull out of its contracts due to significant monetary troubles.

The price of retendering the contracts is most likely to be really high, the BMJ stated. In just a single region impacted, the West Midlands, the reprocurement approach will cost £500,000, it located.

The NHS 111 line, which replaced NHS Direct as the number to phone for urgent but non-emergency care, has been riddled with teething issues considering that its inception on 1 April. Sufferers have complained of calls going unanswered, bad suggestions offered and calls getting diverted to the wrong part of the nation.

A month following the launch, leading medics mentioned the “problematic” roll-out of the technique had left several patients not being aware of in which to flip. NHS England launched an investigation into the tips line right after a quantity of incidents, like 3 deaths, have been linked to the support.

NHS Direct initially won 11 of the 46 contracts across England to give the 111 service. But in July it announced it would be unable to provide the service in North Essex, Cornwall, Somerset, Buckinghamshire, east London and the City, south-east London, Sutton and Merton, West Midlands, Lancashire and Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire.

A spokeswoman for NHS Direct said the contracts, which covered far more than a third of the population of England, have been “financially unsustainable”. In October the organisation announced that it was to close soon after projecting a £26m deficit for this economic 12 months.

Dame Barbara Hakin, chief operating officer at NHS England, mentioned: “NHS 111 is now a steady and improving service and we are assured it will continue to get better. I have been impressed by the way that the employees providing these companies across the country have turned the circumstance all around on behalf of the public.

“NHS 111 gives a excellent services with large levels of public fulfillment. Calls are answered promptly and a lot more individuals are obtaining accessibility to the support as we move to complete coverage in February 2014. The latest urgent care review identified the important role that 111 can play. The concept of calling for suggestions first is crucial for patient care outcomes and we are committed to guaranteeing 111 plays its complete element in this.”

Labour’s shadow wellness minister Andrew Gwynne explained: “It is now clear that ministers wasted hundreds of thousands on flawed contracts. Labour warned the government at the outset that 111 was fundamentally flawed but they pressed ahead with the rollout irrespective.

“David Cameron is responsible for its shambolic introduction. The destruction of NHS Direct – a trusted, national support – is one particular of his worst acts of vandalism.”

Retendering NHS 111 contracts could cost millions