Claims that calls to NHS Direct have rocketed by 50 per cent in the last few days, leaving the helpline at “breaking point”, have been dismissed by the head of the service.

The call service is under huge pressure as flu infection rates more than doubled in the last week, the Daily Mail has claimed.

Patients were having to wait two days to speak a nurse with as many as 46,000 people calling the helpline last weekend at a rate of almost 960 an hour, it said.

A senior nurse told the Mail: “This is by far the worst it has ever been. People have not been receiving call-backs for 48 hours - it’s appalling.”

But NHS Direct chief executive Nick Chapman denied the service was at breaking point and said there had been no increase in calls related to flu or colds.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We are not at breaking point. We continue to deal with large numbers of patients to give them advice. We are providing a good service, not as good as we would like, despite the efforts of our staff.”

Mr Chapman went on: “I think it is right that because we are not able to provide the normal service, I think it is right I should apologise.”

But he said enquiries related to colds or flu only rose by 4% over the weekend: “We don’t detect any particular upsurge in colds and flu.”

To put this into context, total cold and flu enquiries currently comprise 17% of all calls to NHS Direct, whereas during the same period in 2008 this was 16%.

He blamed the increase in enquiries on the cold snap meaning people were more reluctant to leave home to consult their doctor.

And he conceded that with the 50 per cent increase in enquiries: “We find that is very difficult to cope with.”

A Department of Health spokeswoman said the health service was coping “very well” with the outbreak of flu.

She said: “We are currently seeing an unusually high number of people in critical care with flu. But the NHS is well prepared.

“There is always more pressure on the NHS at this time of year and this year is no different.

“But the NHS is coping very well with only a small percentage of the intensive care capacity being taken up by patients with flu.

“However, as a cautionary approach, local health trusts are looking at how they can increase capacity if necessary.”

 

Topics