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Long waits to get through to the NHS 111 helpline are leading to millions of abandoned calls, according to a new analysis by the Liberal Democrats.
People calling NHS 111 waited for an average of 25 minutes in December 2022, which lead to four in 10 (41%) people deciding to terminate the call.
Data from last year reveals that almost four million (roughly one in five) calls to the NHS helpline were abandoned in 2022, equating to more than 10,000 a day.
The South East of England suffered some of the worst delays in the country, with one in two callers hanging up before their call was answered in December 2022.
These long delays will have led to more people turning to their local A&E to get the medical advice they need, which puts more pressure on NHS services and causes overcrowding in hospitals.
Lib Dems want to see the government implement an action plan in response to the findings
The Liberal Democrats are now calling for an emergency recruitment drive of NHS 111 call handlers, as well as a wider rescue plan for local health services, including recruiting 8,000 more GPs and bringing in a Carer’s Minimum Wage to tackle staff shortages in social care.
This would help bring waiting times down to the NHS target of 20 seconds and make sure fewer patients are forced to abandon calls before getting through, according to Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey.
Mr Davey says it is “completely unacceptable” that people who need urgent medical advice are frequently unable to access the services they need.
He has accused Conservative MPs of “burying their head in the sand” and has urged the government to hire and train more NHS 111 call handlers, as well as provide further support and funding for local health services.
“Local health services across the country are at breaking point after years of neglect and underfunding from this Conservative Government. From ambulance waiting times and a lack of GP appointments, our health services are buckling under pressure.
“The Conservative Government’s record on health has been a shambles and today’s figures are yet further proof that we cannot trust them to run the NHS,” he said.
Government says plans are underway to increase number of NHS 111 call handlers
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) says they have a plan “to help the NHS deliver for patients” which includes increasing the number of NHS 111 call handlers to 4,800; this is laid out in the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan.
A spokesperson from the Department said: “Our plan will deliver one of the fastest and longest sustained improvements in emergency waiting times in the NHS’s history, with £14.1bn made available for health and social care over the next two years on top of record funding.”