Consultation on NHS 111 service soon to close

The Care Quality Commission (CQC)'s proposal forms part of a new approach to make sure that services are safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs, and are well-led.

The telephone-based NHS 111 service aims to make it easier to access local NHS healthcare services when urgent medical help is required, but it’s not a 999 emergency. Trained staff ask questions to assess symptoms, then give healthcare advice or direct callers to the local service that can best help.

CQC Chief Inspector of Primary Care, Professor Steve Field, said: “We are setting out the changes we are proposing to make to the way we regulate NHS 111 services that will help us to make sure that they provide safe, high-quality care.

“We want to hear what professionals, clinicians and members of the public think of these proposals."
The CQC plans to inspect and regulate NHS 111 services include:

• using key lines of enquiry (KLOEs), inspection teams supported by clinical and other experts and the use of information, including people’s experiences of care, to decide when, where and what to inspect.
• using the ratings characteristics which are similar to those for GP practices and GP out-of-hours services.

The consultation runs until 24 April 2015. Individuals can take part via the CQC's online form or by using #tellcqc.