By 1 December NHS 111 will be able to book appointments at emergency departments (EDs) within all London hospitals. This will coincide with a campaign encouraging patients to contact NHS 111 before attending an ED.
Patients who are assessed as needing to attend an ED by NHS 111, will be advised where they need to go for treatment and a timeslot will be booked for them. NHS 111 is already able to book appointments for patients at the majority of Urgent Treatment Centres (UTCs) and GP practices. Where they feel it is more appropriate for a patient to attend a UTC or GP, this will be offered/booked instead of an ED appointment.
The scheduling for the rollout of the initiative is as follows:
- Wave 1 went live on 30 September, covering: Royal London Hospital, North Middlesex Hospital, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Woolwich, Croydon University Hospital.
- Wave 2 went live on 31 October, covering: Newham Hospital, Whipps Cross Hospital, Homerton Hospital, St Thomas Hospital, Princess Royal University Hospital, Kings College Hospital (Denmark Hill), Barnet Hospital, Royal Free Hospital, Kingston Hospital, St Helier Hospital, St George’s Hospital, Northwick Park Hospital, Ealing Hospital, West Middlesex Hospital
- Wave 3 is scheduled to go live on 30 November, covering: Queens Hospital (Romford), King George Hospital (Redbridge), University Hospital Lewisham, University College London, The Whittington Hospital, Hillingdon Hospital, Charing Cross Hospital, St Mary’s Hospital.
NHS England says the NHS 111 service in London is receiving an extra £6 to fund additional capacity and hiring 644 more staff, including 166 more doctors, nurses, pharmacists and paramedics.
Last updated : 24 Nov 2020