NHS 111 calls 'incorrectly classified' as serious

Calls to the NHS 111 number in Somerset are being wrongly categorised as the highest priority by call handlers, it has been claimed.

In one case a paramedic says he drove for 40 minutes with blue lights to a "catastrophic bleed" which turned out to be a kitten scratch.

NHS 111 services in Somerset are provided by private company Vocare.

It said all call handlers were "trained in NHS processes, including when calls are escalated to paramedics".

Calls to NHS 111 are categorised in order of priority, with category 1 reserved for people with life-threatening illnesses.

'Clearly nonsense'

South Western Ambulance Service has not met targets for its response times to Category 1 calls - those which are life-threatening - for several months.

Speaking anonymously to the BBC, one paramedic said the call-answerers "aren't medical and make all sorts of things Category 1 which they are not".

The source added: "An example is that all nosebleeds recently have been classed as Category 1 as they're considered a risk of 'catastrophic bleeding', which is clearly nonsense.

"Almost every person we go to who called 111 says that they didn't want an ambulance, just advice or a doctor, but 111 insisted they will send an ambulance."

Another paramedic working for a private company that provides ambulance services criticised the "flowchart of trauma tick-boxes filled out by a non-medic", which they said "doesn't allow for proper conversation".

According to NHS England, Vocare answered 54,916 calls between January and April 2018 resulting in 6,811 ambulances dispatched.

In a statement, the company said: "Vocare trains all team members to follow the pathway processes set by the NHS. These are a nationally agreed platform that every NHS 111 service provider uses.

"NHS England is aware that the NHS Pathways program always defaults to the safest route... this sometimes results in an ambulance being called when another less urgent option may be more appropriate."