Up to third of 111 calls ditched by fed-up patients

MORE than a third of calls to 111 are being abandoned in parts of England as patients get fed up waiting to get through.

Over a quarter of a million callers put their phone down before speaking to anyone about their medical issue in April, figures from NHS England reveal.

This is equivalent to more than one in seven (15 per cent) calls to the nonemergency service, rising to 35.8 per cent in Devon.

Those who give up are likely to pile pressure on other parts of the service by phoning 999 or turning up at A&Es.

Analysis by the Liberal Democrats showed it took callers in Devon an average of 11 minutes to get through to 111 – almost double the national average. The NHS target is no more than 20 seconds.

Lib Dem spokesman Daisy Cooper called for an ‘emergency recruitment drive’ of NHS 111 call handlers to bring waiting times down. The Department of Health was approached for comment.