NHS Direct’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2012/13 has highlighted that the Trust is seeking to agree a managed transfer of NHS Direct’s 111 services, frontline and other staff who currently provide them, to alternative providers.
NHS Direct is seeking to withdraw from the NHS 111 contracts it entered into as these have proved to be financially unsustainable.
The non-emergency telephone provider initially won 11 of the 46 regional contracts for the service, covering 34% of the population, according to the BBC, and has already pulled out of two services, leaving 9 remaining.
The Trust will continue to provide a range of web, mobile and telephone services for patients which complement NHS 111 and support the NHS. These services are unaffected by the discussions currently taking place.
Discussions are already taking place with other providers, particularly the ambulance trusts, to see who could take over from NHS Direct. There is still between two and five years left on the contract.
Nick Chapman, NHS Direct Chief Executive, said: “We will continue to provide a safe and reliable NHS 111 service to our patients until alternative arrangements can be made by commissioners. Whatever the outcome of the discussions on the future, patients will remain the central focus of our efforts, together with protecting our staff who work on NHS 111 to ensure that the service will continue to benefit from their skills and experience.”
