340k NHS 24 calls left unanswered

MORE than 3 0,000 calls to NHS 2 went unanswered in the first nine months of this year because they were abandoned before the caller got through to an operator, it has been revealed.

Callers are also facing long waits on the non-emergency 111 service, with one experiencing a delay of almost three hours before they were answered and others holding for two hours or more.

The average waiting time between January and September stood at 19 minutes and four seconds.

Last winter, more than a quarter of calls to NHS 2 were ended by the caller hanging up before speaking to an operator.

A new NHS 2 call centre in Dundee was opened in January to help with demand. But 120,000 of the dropped calls from the first nine months of the year occurred during July, August and September.

The figures were released by the Scottish Conservatives through a freedom of information request, and the party has called on Health Secretary Humza Yousaf to ‘get a grip’ on the health system.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Sandesh Gulhane said: ‘This is just another symptom of Humza Yousaf’s dire mismanagement of our NHS.

‘It’s extremely dangerous for patients who may need urgent medical advice.’

The Scottish Government was contacted for comment.