NHS 111 Online
Did you know that there is another way to contact NHS 111 other than by phone? If you have a healthcare concern and you aren’t sure where to go, you can go online to 111.nhs.uk.
How does NHS 111 online work?
Of course, when you call NHS 111, HUC will answer your call. Our trained staff will take you through a phone triage to determine your health needs. Using our clinical assessment system, our Health Advisors will ensure that the healthcare outcomes are accurate. Those outcomes could be direct booking with your GP, self-care instructions, dispatch of an ambulance, or emergency department booking. Depending on the clinical need, the patient may also have a video consultation or receive a face-to-face appointment with urgent Dentist, Out of Hours GP, or Urgent Treatment Centres.
But similar to NHS 111, NHS 111 Online is available across England. The service is accessible from any device should you, one of your loved ones or someone you look after need help. You can contact NHS 111 Online if you are not sure where to go, for general healthcare advice and medicine and prescription support. However, NHS 111 Online services should not be used in emergencies or for children under five. Indeed, before the start of the online assessment, a number of emergency scenarios will be ruled out.
What happens afterwards?
NHS 111 Online will generate a sequence of questions based on your answers – this is similar to the assessment a non-clinical call handler would take you through over the phone. You will first need to tell the system why you are looking for advice.
You or the loved one providing the answers on your behalf will then need to follow the appropriate prompts. You will be asked to input information such as postcode, age, gender, and symptoms. This data will help the system offer the most appropriate healthcare advice or locate the nearest healthcare services to you.
If the assessment outcome determines that you need an ED or an Ambulance, your case will be validated by staff. Then you will receive a call back from a GP who will triage you and refer or book you into the appropriate service. This way, you receive the best possible care in the right place, first time.
