Govt scrapping NHS Direct and Petition...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11120853
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/94600

As you may have heard, the govt is planning on scrapping NHS Direct in England

I've found NHS 24 (Scotland) to be very helpful and while ours isn't being scrapped *yet*, I would be quite sad to see that go away. 

So sign the petition, if they get over 100,000 signatures, they'll debate it...

http://www.savenhsdirect.co.uk/

I think a critical point in the article...

The government has confirmed it is planning to scrap the NHS Direct telephone service in England and replace it with an alternative service.

I think a critical point in the article...

That's the 111 non emergency number, run by trained advisors, not nurses, like you currently get. 

Does anyone live in an area with the 111 number? How well does it work?

I still think the article is misleading.

Anyway, I am not sure I even object.  Currently people have (1) their normal doctor's surgery, including speaking to nurses on the phone, (2) A&E, and (3) this non emergency number and (4) NHS Direct.  All from a free POS service. 

Money isn't unlimited and if the NHS Direct is cut are people really going to have worse care or just mildly incovenienced.  If it is the latter, that is sometimes what you get from a free POS service.  While I appreciate keeping NHS direct might be preferable to cutting some middle managers (or something else), I don't agree the NHS should be ring fenced from cuts.

I think, though, that A&E and out-of-hours doctors are more expensive than NHS Direct, and if losing NHS Direct means more people making use of the other 2 already pressurised services, it might not save money in the long run.

I think, though, that A&E and out-of-hours doctors are more expensive than NHS Direct, and if losing NHS Direct means more people making use of the other 2 already pressurised services, it might not save money in the long run.

Yeah, that was my thinking as well. 

Plus, I've had to call NHS 24 in the middle of the night and I saved myself a trip to A&E by calling, getting advice I could trust and I was assured I'd be OK until I could get into my GP in the morning.   I would have wasted their time and money by actually going to A&E with my worries. 

Yeah, that was my thinking as well. 

Plus, I've had to call NHS 24 in the middle of the night and I saved myself a trip to A&E by calling, getting advice I could trust and I was assured I'd be OK until I could get into my GP in the morning.   I would have wasted their time and money by actually going to A&E with my worries. 

Me too.

I used NHS direct when I started to have a miscarriage on a Sunday. I would definitely have gone to A&E if I wasn't reassured that  I could wait until Monday morning to see my normal GP.

Two out of three of you did not provide your circumstance but the miscarriage one could have been handled by a trained person that isn't a nurse.  I just don't really see how the non emergency number won't be a decent substitute and if serious you go to A&E.  That is pretty much what NHS Direct tells you anyway, thereby acting like a triage system. 

Given how I have known people to use NHS Direct, I don't see the necessity of employing nurses, which would be more expensive.  But just my opinion.

We used NHS24 when my partner was being violently ill and we were in the middle of nowhere in the highlands; the nearest permanent GP (this area only had a part-time GP) was 25 minutes drive away, the nearest even minor injuries hospital was 45-55 minutes away, and the nearest actual hospital was Inverness 3+ hours away. A nurse was able to tell us that we were ok to wait until morning, but also that if it went on for another couple of hours at the same rate that she would send out a GP to us. I'm not sure I would have trusted a layman tbh, because he was in a bad way and we were so isolated.

Two out of three of you did not provide your circumstance but the miscarriage one could have been handled by a trained person that isn't a nurse.

Really? I think that would depend upon the circumstances and my medical history.

Mine was related to unexplained bleeding and lots of pain
I answered the NHS 24 questions which said to go to A&E (which is what an untrained emergency number would say to do, as they would be "following a script") however the nurse was able to talk through my medical history and go through things and it was "ok to wait until morning"  

I've also called NHS 24 before where they did send me to A&E and I was admitted to hospital that night.  It was one of these things where I was trying to play it straight faced and stiff upper lipped, but my BF made me call NHS 24.  (But answering the questions online, "the script", I would have stayed home and self treated)

So I think its a great thing.