THE new 111 non-emergency medical health line is a 'bigger and better' version of its former self – and is already reducing the number of patients heading to A&E.

Launched last month, the Thames Valley Integrated Urgent Care (IUC) Service is already making a difference to Oxfordshire's over-stretched emergency departments.

Chief operating officer at South Central Ambulance Service Philip Astle said early forecasts showed the new system has saved 15,000 patients from being sent to A&E.

He added: "This is a bigger, better version of the 111 service.

"It is more expensive than the old 111 system but it is a whole lot better.

"Early indicators are showing that we have saved about one per cent of people being directed from 111into the emergency department.

"One per cent of 1.5million people, which is the number of calls we get a year, is 15,000. That is going to have huge savings for the tax payer because the emergency department is the most expensive place you can send a patient."

On the old 111 service, about one in five callers would have the opportunity to speak to clinical staff.

Now one in three will have the chance to speak to clinicians, who can offer specialist advice and support.

By partnering with other health trusts across the Thames Valley, Oxfordshire patients will be able to speak to dentists, GPs, mental health workers and pharmacists.

Mr Astle added: "In an ideal world I would have a team of GPs, dentists and mental health workers all upstairs in our Bicester call centre sat next to the call handlers, waiting to answer people's queries.

"But that is not an effective way of spending the public's money.

"Which is why we have come up with this partnership between the trusts so we can all share each other's resources.

"There is a GP hub in Wokingham, which we are using. Callers who ring 111 and need to urgently speak to a doctor will be put through to this hub straight away, it will almost be as if the GP is sat right next to the call handler and they pass the phone over."

During out-of-hours when pharmacies and GP surgeries are closed in the county, a pharmacist will be on hand in the call centre to help patients.

Mr Astle said: "In the 111 service we will try to help everybody and I am most excited about never sending someone to the wrong place now with this new system.

"An awful lot of people needed to be referred to a doctor in the old system and they wouldn't necessarily see them straight away.

"We found patients would have to repeat their problem several times in the chain as there were breaks between when they first called 111 and when they would be contacted by a GP.

"Time and time again we would have a patient call 111 to renew their prescription. They had lost the slip of paper, the pharmacies and surgeries were closed for the day and they just needed to renew it – for such a simple request this would require the patient making between three to four different calls."

This new service is provided by SCAS in collaboration with Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust.