NHS Scotland: Hundreds of thousands of NHS 24 calls go unanswered due to long waiting times

Hundreds of thousands of NHS 24 calls are going unanswered as patients give up on lengthy waiting times, new figures suggest.

Almost 150,000 NHS 24 calls were abandoned before the caller spoke to an operator in the first half of this year, according to new figures.

Hundreds of thousands of calls to NHS 24 are being abandoned before the caller manages to get through to an operator, new figures show, as opposition politicians blast “ridiculous wait times”.

Almost 150,000 NHS 24 calls were abandoned before the caller spoke to an operator in the first half of this year, according to new figures.

The data, obtained via Freedom of Information request, also shows that the average wait time for an NHS 24 caller was nearly 13 minutes.

The longest wait time a caller faced in the first six months of 2023 was two hours and 45 minutes.

The Scottish Conservatives’ shadow health secretary, Dr Sandesh Gulhane, labelled the wait times “a symptom of the SNP’s chronic mismanagement of Scotland’s NHS”.

He warned that it would have a knock-on effect across the health service, because frustrated callers who gave up on NHS 24 were likely to increase demand on already overwhelmed GP and A&E services instead.

“The astonishing scale of abandoned NHS 24 calls is a symptom of the SNP’s chronic mismanagement of Scotland’s NHS,” said Dr Gulhane.

“Scots should not be forced to endure ridiculous wait times to speak to an operator about their health concerns.

“The average wait time of almost 13 minutes is simply not good enough – and it beggars belief that someone actually waited nigh on three hours to have their call answered.

“NHS 24 has a vital role to play in reducing the pressure on GP surgeries and our A&E departments. That’s the theory – but if callers face unacceptable waits, they are likely to give up and book a GP appointment or attend hospital instead.

“During their 16 years in power, the SNP have run our NHS into the ground, creating more hurdles for Scots to jump over in order to access vital healthcare. Wait times for A&E, operations and appointments have soared due to ministers’ dire workforce planning, and now even a call to NHS 24 is a challenge.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “NHS 24 continues to work hard to ensure calls to its 111 service are answered as quickly and safely as possible’’

“The Scottish Government increased NHS 24’s funding last year by over £20 million for additional recruitment and the addition of a new call centres in Dundee and Glasgow. We will continue to invest in the service as it continues to expand both its services and workforce.”

“For context, NHS England’s equivalent 111 service dropped almost 3.7 million calls last year, which is per head of population around 19% higher in England than the rate identified for Scotland in this release. IN addition the average NHS 111 waiting time in England last year was 25 minutes – nearly double the length identified in this release for Scotland.”