Abandoned calls to helpline quadruple

The number of people who hung up after waiting for more than 30 seconds increased from nearly 7,000 in February to 29,100 in March, according to NHS England figures which do not include performance in Yorkshire.

The average call length increased from just over 14 minutes in February to almost 18 minutes in March. Numbers of calls to the line increased by more than 140,000 over the period – an increase of two-thirds.

Four per cent of callers were urged to go to A&E and six per cent of calls led to an ambulance being summoned.

Last week, leading doctors warned the “problematic” roll-out of the NHS 111 advice line had left patients not knowing where to turn to for help.

The Royal College of General Practitioners said patients had lost confidence” in the new non-emergency number before it was even fully up and running across the country.

The service was supposed to be rolled out on April 1, but officials were forced to relax the deadline after it emerged that many of the advice lines were not ready to go ahead.

Patients have been complaining about calls going unanswered and poor advice being given, especially at weekends, which has led to hospitals being inundated with patients who could be treated elsewhere.

In Yorkshire, the helpline was launched in March in West Yorkshire and Bassetlaw and has also taken on calls formerly dealt with by NHS Direct across the region.

But it is not expected to be fully operational across the region until the end of July.