NHS Direct

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Feedback on WYUCS

Callers to the service are assessed and advised over the telephone by either a nurse or GP. If necessary, a face to face appointment or home visit is then arranged. NHS Direct provide the telephone (or ‘access and assess’) side of the service with the treatment element provided by Care UK and Local Care Direct.

90% satisfaction

Recent independent surveys carried out by both IFF Research and Swift Research show the general caller experience to be positive, with an overall satisfaction rate of over 90% (IFF). This takes into account all aspects of the service, from initial telephone contact to face to face contact with the treatment provider.

Positive comments were in relation to the speed of the service, the reassurance it offers and the fact that either an appointment can be arranged or that people are ‘pointed in the right direction’. Call handlers, including health advisors, nurses and GPs, were described as being helpful, friendly and sympathetic (Swift Research).

Positive feedback

It is encouraging to receive positive feedback as the service is still relatively new and we experienced a number of problems at launch. This includes some technological issues which were mentioned in a recent report by the Primary Care Foundation. You may have heard about this in an article written about the report in the GP magazine ‘Pulse’.

The issues relating to NHS Direct were about other providers being able to see calls in the queue, and were not fundamental to parts of the service we run. There is an action plan in place and a number of these issues have already been resolved.

West Yorkshire Urgent Care Services is commissioned by Wakefield District, Kirklees, Leeds, Calderdale and Bradford and Airedale PCTs and covers over 2.1 million people.