Shropshire patients who need out of hours medical help will no longer be able to call Shropdoc from July, instead they will need to call the national helpline NHS 111.
The change will be introduced from Tuesday 3 July 2018 for people across Telford and Wrekin and Shropshire.
The current Shropdoc telephone number will no longer be in use from that date.
At present people can call Shropdoc if they need urgent medical attention that cannot wait for their own surgery to open. The service has been in operation for over 21 years and has provided services to 600,000 patients in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Powys.
The 111 service will replace the current out-of-hours telephone service provided by Shropdoc in line with national policy to provide a consistent, integrated approach to urgent care; but any patients that need to see a clinician out-of-hours will still be seen by a local GP.
Christine Morris, Executive Nurse and Deputy Chief Officer for NHS Telford and Wrekin CCG explained:
“We want to assure our patients that our priority is to ensure that local people have continued access to Out-of-Hours GP primary care if they need it, but in using 111 it also makes it easier for patients to access other services like dentistry if they have an urgent need.”
“The current GP out-of-hours service will continue to be provided by Shropdoc, who will still provide the clinical service to patients who need a face-to-face GP appointment”
Shropdoc will work with private limited company, Care UK, England’s largest independent provider of NHS services.
Dr Russell Muirhead, Chairman of Shropdoc, who has committed to support a smooth transition for patients across the patch, said: “We are working with Care UK, the organisation that provides the NHS111 service, to ensure that the integration of our two services continues to provide a safe and quality service for our patients.”
Sarah-Jane Graham, National Director Integrated Urgent Care, Care UK said:
“The NHS 111 service is now offered across the whole of England. 111 is the number people are encouraged to call if they require urgent medical advice and it is not an emergency. It is free and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
“NHS 111 is much more than a helpline – if you’re worried about an urgent medical concern, you can call 111 to speak to a fully trained adviser. Depending on the situation, the 111 team can connect you to a nurse, emergency dentist or even a GP, and can arrange face-to-face appointments should you need one.”
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