Hundreds surrender ready for NHS 24 helpline response amid ‘ridiculous wait occasions’ in Scotland
Almost 150,000 calls from members of the general public in search of recommendation from NHS 24 in Scotland had been deserted earlier than an operator responded in the course of the first six months of 2023, new figures present.
One caller waited greater than two hours and 45 minutes to talk to an operator in April.
January was the worst month for wait occasions general, with 34,594 calls halted earlier than being answered, and a median wait time of 19 minutes and 51 seconds.
The knowledge was obtained by the Scottish Conservatives by freedom of knowledge requests.
NHS 24 is the Scottish equal to NHS 111, offering pressing care recommendation and dental help out of hours.
The Scottish Government has urged individuals to make the most of NHS 24 – which was first arrange in 2001 – to alleviate stress on emergency departments.
‘Simply not ok’
Scottish Conservative Dr Sandesh Gulhane blamed the lengthy wait occasions on what he referred to as “the SNP’s chronic mismanagement of Scotland’s NHS”.
He went on: “Scots shouldn’t be pressured to endure ridiculous wait occasions to talk to an operator about their well being issues.
“The average wait time of almost 13 minutes is simply not good enough – and it beggars belief that someone actually waited nigh on three hours to have their call answered.”
The member of the Scottish parliament additionally mentioned individuals could be pushed again into calling their GP or attending A&E as a result of vital ready occasions for NHS 24.
Government says ‘enhancing’ service higher than England’s
A spokesperson for NHS 24 mentioned “winter pressures” had impacted demand for his or her companies, which together with elevated calls throughout public holidays had led to quickly elevated wait occasions.
They additionally mentioned some callers would have hung up after listening to the recorded message directing them to different care, together with 999, their native pharmacy or symptom checkers on NHSinform.scot.
The spokesperson added: “NHS 24 is constantly improving its services and continues to recruit extra frontline staff to answer every call as quickly as possible, and to continue to provide safe and effective care to patients across Scotland 24/7.”
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In response to the info, the Scottish Government mentioned: “[We] increased NHS 24’s funding last year by over £20 million for additional recruitment and the addition of a new call centres in Dundee and Glasgow. We will continue to invest in the service as it continues to expand both its services and workforce.”
Additionally, they made a comparability with figures from NHS 111, which they mentioned confirmed the typical wait time in England was 25 minutes – almost double the Scottish wait time – and that 111 dropped virtually 3.7 million calls final 12 months, which they mentioned per head of inhabitants was round 19% larger in than in Scotland.