NEARLY one in four calls to the NHS’s new non-emergency number - piloted in the region - goes unanswered, according to the statistics.

The figures show that County Durham and Darlington was the lowest performing of the four pilot areas for the service, designed to ease the burden of hospitals.

Health officials, however, say that the figure is just one in ten when only direct calls to the 111 number are taken into account.

The 111 number was launched in County Durham and Darlington in August last year, shortly ahead of Lincolnshire, Luton and Nottingham.

Ministers wanted 111 to become the only number patients needed if they required urgent, but non life-threatening medical help or advice.

Statistics released this weekend showed that for September, 12 per cent of calls across the four areas went unanswered. Figures for Durham showed that it was nearer 23 per cent.

However, health officials pointed out that of those patients directly ringing 111 rather than those put through via other numbers, such as out of hours services, more than 90 per cent stayed on the line - across the project it is 94 per cent.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “We know that unanswered calls are usually callers who get through to the NHS 111 message and hang up. This could be because they wanted to speak to their GP practice, but it was still in the 'out of hours' period and they were therefore transferred to NHS 111. This figure does not mean patients are receiving a poor service.”

Of the 12,082 calls answered, 9,636 were given triage, 398 were given health information and 2,011 were transferred to a clinical advisor. A total of 1,770 callers ended the call.

One caller wrote on the NHS's own web page: "All I wanted was a bit of advice. I now need to go to work and have had no help from anyone. I had the sense to take painkillers myself, hope this new service gets better."

Earlier this year, officials in County Durham said the service had helped to reduce the number of patients attending accident and emergency departments.

The Department of Health spokeswoman added: "Too many people are confused about what is available to them or how best to get it, especially at night or if they are away from home. That is why we're introducing NHS 111.

"The data for September shows an encouraging picture, with patients being able to access the right healthcare services quickly, when they need them. Lessons learned from the pilots will ensure that when the service is rolled out nationally it will provide people with a first class service.”