THE Government has said it is encouraged by the pioneering work of a North-East pilot scheme which has reduced the number of people going to accident and emergency departments.

County Durham and Darlington was the first place in England to try out a new three-digit number – 111 – for all non-emergency medical calls.

The system means that anyone requiring non-emergency healthcare at weekends or evenings calls 111 instead of individual GP surgeries.

Trained call-handlers at the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) control centre in Newcastle then use sophisticated software to decide what service the caller needs. Callers can also get telephone advice from a doctor.

Depending on the circumstances, individuals can either be taken to hospital by ambulance, asked to go to hospital in their own car, go to a walk-in treatment centre, given advice about self-treatment or advised to see a doctor, nurse or specialist nurse the following working day.

In County Durham and Darlington, the first English pilot site to go live last year, comparisons between August to December last year with the same period in 2009 show that the number of people going to A&E decreased by four per cent compared to a two per cent rise for England as a whole.

GP out-of-hours consultations, urgent care centre and walk-in centre attendances in County Durham and Darlington have also decreased by four per cent during the same period.

But for England as a whole the combined attendance to urgent care centre, walk-in centres and minor injury units have increased by 20 per cent.

Health Minister Lord Howe said he was encouraged by the initial results. “At present, too many people are confused about who to contact and how to do so when needing urgent care.

“The memorable 111 number can also help us take the pressure off the 999 emergency service and local A&E departments, which many people turn to if they do not know where else to go for the urgent help they need.”

Berenice Groves, 111 programme director for NHS County Durham and Darlington said: “It shows that this has resulted in improved access to care.”