Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps NHS 111 is taking to ensure that GPs are aware of the advice it issues to their patients; and what the process is for referring vulnerable people who call NHS 111 to their GP.

Most calls to NHS 111 result in a Post-Event Message being sent to the patient’s general practitioner informing them of the nature of the call and the assessment.

Callers accessing NHS 111 are thoroughly assessed and, if required, are passed on to a clinician for extended assessment. Mechanisms are in place in most areas to access patient records and special notes which will identify patients who are vulnerable or have specific needs.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have accelerated the implementation of direct booking into general practice to ensure, as far as possible, that a patient gets an appointment at their practice where they are assessed as needing one.