111 phoneline nightmare for Bloxwich family revealed
The new 111 number for medical non-emergencies was today described a nightmare as a woman from the Black Country claimed it took more than seven hours for a doctor to come out after she reported a relative had died.
Serious concerns about the new phone line have been raised by an out-of-hours GP service which said it had had to reopen its old helplines.
Badger Group, which provides the out of hours services for 234 GP practices across parts of the Black Country and South Staffordshire, said it was having to get patients to re-dial 111 after they had been put through to it for issues intended for dentists and district nurses.
Pam Cavalier, of Bloxwich, said she had to wait more than seven hours for a doctor to come out after she reported the death of her husband's mother.
Heath Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that the 111 system is now working well in most areas. "We did have teething problems with NHS 111. It is up-and-running now in 90 per cent of the country."
But Dr Fay Wilson, chief executive of Badger, said: "It just doesn't work."
