PEOPLE in Gwent who need help, advice and urgent care from the area's GP out-of-hours service or from NHS Direct, can now use the single contact number '111' service.
The service, which has now launched, aims to provide 24/7 improved access and signposting to clinical advice and treatment, ensuring patients get to the right service quickly.
The 111 phone number replaces the previous NHS Direct Wales and GP Out of Hours service numbers.
It's a clinically-led service, with trained call handlers working together with GPs, nurses, advanced nurse practitioners and pharmacists.
For patients who are unsure whether or not their urgent health concern is an emergency, a trained call handler can determine this following a series of questions, and can arrange an ambulance if required. Patients who cannot be dealt with at call handler or triage stage can be passed to the relevant out-of-hours team.
The service is designed to ensure patients get the right treatment, in the right place, at the right time, relieving pressure on busy emergency departments and the ambulance service.
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Aneurin Bevan University Health Board is the fourth health board in Wales to launch the 111 service, following Abertawe Bro Morgannwg, Hywel Dda and Powys.
It was scheduled to launch in Gwent in April, but this was postponed following concerns over staffing levels in the 111 call centre, raised by the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust during a readiness check.
A subsequent recruitment drive was successful however, leading to this week's launch.
The 111 service for Gwent is designed to cope with around 126,500 calls a year, and is staffed by 20 call handling staff and 11 clinical advisors (nurses).
This team is supported on weekday evenings and for 12 hours a day at weekends and on bank holidays - periods when out-of-hours demand is typically higher - by members of a clinical 'hub' which includes GPs, pharmacists and nurses.
The aim is to bring a multi-disciplinary approach to the service, rather than relying on a traditional GP-only model of care.
The existing Dental Helpline - 01633 744387 - remains unchanged.
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