NHS 111

If you need medical help fast, but it is not life-threatening, call 111

NHS 111 is a new national telephone service which should be used if you need medical help fast but it’s not a life-threatening situation. 999 should still be used if it is an emergency.

NHS 111 provides a new way to ensure people receive the right care, from the right person, in the right time and place.

When you call 111, a trained adviser will ask you questions to find out what’s wrong, give you medical advice and direct you to someone who can help you, like an out-of-hours doctor or a community nurse. If the adviser thinks your condition is more serious, they will direct you to hospital or send an ambulance. If you don’t speak English, tell the adviser what language you want to speak and they will get you an interpreter.

You can call 111 free from landlines and mobile phones. 111 is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Call 111 if you need medical help fast, but it’s not life-threatening – for example, if you:

• think you need to go to hospital

• don’t know who to call for medical help

• don’t have a GP to call

• need medical advice or reassurance about what to do next

For health needs that are not urgent, you should call your GP. NHS 111 replaces the NHS Direct service and will also be the number to call to get access to the local GP out of hours service.

For more information on NHS 111, visit www.nhs.uk/111