Ambulance chiefs 'hugely disappointed' to miss out on running non-emergency helpline

West Midlands Ambulance Service stepped in to run the 111 service in 2013 after the former NHS Direct pulled out.

The service is run in Staffordshire by Staffordshire Doctors Urgent Care Service.

But the ambulance service, along with other bidders, was turned down to run it elsewhere in the West Midlands because health service commissioners 'did not receive a bid that was acceptable and demonstrated value for money and have therefore exercised their right to abandon the procurement process'.

West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman Murray MacGregor said: "We are hugely disappointed that we have not been awarded a contract to continue providing the 111 service for the West Midlands (outside Staffordshire) despite being one of the highest performing 111 providers in the country each week, for many months bringing stability to the system that was previously not there.

"Since we 'stepped in' to take over the service from NHS Direct in November 2013, we have invested considerable time in providing additional training to staff to ensure the Service operates safely. We have also increased the number of nurses and paramedics which has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of patients being sent to A&E or requiring an ambulance unnecessarily.

"Despite this huge amount of work undertaken by the Trust, Commissioners have informed us that while the necessary standards were met for quality, we could not agree a price for a service that we felt would be safe or sustainable."

It is up to the Sandwell and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group to appoint an operator.

Dr Jonathan Leach, clinical director for NHS 111 said: ""There are future plans to further develop the 111 service, integrating with in and out of hours GP services to provide patients with seamless 24/7 access to care and providing additional care for patients with mental health conditions, plus providing more clinical input at the call centres."