Calls to 111 half across Black Country and Staffordshire during pandemic
The number of calls to the NHS 111 service in the Black Country and Staffordshire has nearly halved since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, new figures show.
Health chiefs believe fewer people are now using the service – now they know more about coronavirus and what to do if they suspect they have the virus.
NHS England figures show the West Midlands (WMAS) 111 helpline receive 147,179 calls in November, down from 282,145 received in March – a fall of 48 per cent.
Demand for the service remains above the level in November 2019 however, where there were 94,582 calls made.
While figures show the Staffordshire 111 helpline received 29,105 calls in November, down from 50,443 received in March this year – a fall of 42 per cent.
However, demand for the service is now four per cent below the level in November last year, when there were 30,333 calls to the service.
Calls to the helpline across England dropped to 1.6 million in November, compared to 1.7 million in October and 3 million in March.
A report by charity Health Foundation said NHS 111 played a critical role in helping people with medical problems without the risk of unnecessary exposure to Covid-19 at their GP.
Tim Gardner, senior policy fellow at the group, said: "As the pandemic took hold in March, there was a large spike in activity, with the number of calls made to NHS 111 more than doubling from March 2019 to March 2020.
"The volume of calls returned close to normal levels in the summer, and so far there is no indication that we will see a surge in calls on the scale of March 2020, partly because of easier access to testing and also greater access to online assessment."
But he added: "The NHS is heading into a winter like no other as it works to care for a growing number of patients with Covid-19, maintain routine services to tackle the backlog of unmet need and manage the seasonal surge in emergency pressures.
"Even as the vaccines are rolled out, much of what happens in the next six months will depend on the effectiveness of the measures taken to control the spread of the virus."
A spokesman for the NHS said: "NHS 111, both by phone and online has played a key role in helping millions of people to get convenient care and advice through the pandemic, and has significantly helped reduce the number of people having to go to A&E for non-urgent problems, since the service was launched."
