For many, dialling 111 is now the first port of call for medical treatment.
“You get all sorts,” says health advisor Rachel Smith, one of many recruits to pick up the phone from a new Teesside NHS centre for the vital frontline service. “This morning I’ve had call after call.
“Today I’ve done three ambulance dispatches. There was somebody with chest pains that rang in, we had to send an ambulance to them, it was quite a quick response.
“We have a lot of dental, a lot of mental health issues ring in. Some are quite hard. There’s such a wide variety of calls, from little children to the elderly.
“I’ve enjoyed it,” said the 33-year-old mum-of-two from the new NHS 111 centre in Thornaby, which officially opened on Monday (August 27). “You’re going from one extreme to the other. It’s always different.
“I’ve always wanted to do something like this but I’ve always thought you needed to be medically trained. I was sent a link for this job through Facebook by my auntie.”
She did not start with medical qualifications. But after weeks of NHS training with experienced colleagues and clinicians, in her second week taking calls alone at Practice Plus Group’s new centre.
She added: “I genuinely care about who I’m speaking to. I’ve felt like I’ve helped them. I feel like I’m thriving in it.”
Rachel is one of 60 people working at the new centre at Cavendish House, Prince’s Wharf. But Practice Plus Group, which runs it, wants to grow this to 300 over the next year. The service advises callers on what action to take, like going to A&E, an urgent treatment centre or a pharmacy, as well as arranging calls with nurses and paramedics, appointments and specialist support. It is meant to help take pressure off GPs and A&E.
CEO Jim Easton said: “Those joining us in Stockon-on-Tees will save lives. These are incredibly important jobs.”
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We do 2.5 million calls a year. Anybody with any worry about their health rings us.
“111 started a decade and a half ago and has grown and grown. It’s like the front door for the NHS increasingly, it’s a central part of the fabric of the NHS.
“It could be anything from something really minor to something really serious. We’re right at the forefront of people’s ability to get hold of healthcare.
“In theory, we’re the less serious end. In practice, we get people who should dial 999 and we’re immediately able to dispatch an ambulance. Beyond that, it’s the full range of things – chronic illnesses, mental health challenges, minor injuries, flu, covid.
“We can make a recommendation of what to do and we can do practical things like arrange to see a GP, arrange an appointment. We can make things happen in the real world of the NHS.
“We’ve wanted to add to our portfolio of call centres in an area where we could make a difference to economic regeneration and get access to a great workforce.”
He shared one intriguing reason for the company’s expansion here: “The Teesside accent always scores very well as a reassuring, friendly and welcoming tone of voice on the phone. There are call centre studies.
“We’re pleased to be able to make a real solid injection of really good-quality jobs into Stockton. We know the colleagues at the council have an aspiration to make the Stockton area a real hub for health care as a focus for economic regeneration and we’re really glad to be helping that.”
Council leaders see this is also a crucial first step towards the forthcoming care and health innovation zone at Teesdale Business Park and the Tees Marshalling Yards while linking with other digital and IT businesses. Stockton Council leader Councillor Bob Cook said many of the call handlers were recruited from the Employment and Training Hub at Wellington Square.
He said: “We want to try to get as many local people into jobs as we can. It also coincides with our care and health innovation zone, part and parcel of our ambitious plans for the North Thornaby and Teesdale area.
“This is one of the first businesses to relocate to Thornaby. We’ve been told it’s the first time they’ve come to the north of the country. This is the perfect place to do it.”
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Council chief executive Mike Greene said: “It’s another good anchor with the care and health innovation zone. It will help that growth.
“We’re keen to unlock it with businesses clustering around each other, sharing knowledge, flourishing in Stockton and Thornaby. It’s a good first step.
“We know we’ve got great, skilled people here who are passionate about the place. It’s local jobs for local people but it’s also contributing to a key agenda with health. It helps to tackle health inequalities.”
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