AN ALLIANCE led by South Central Ambulance Trust has been formally awarded the contract for the 111 service in the Thames Valley.

Described as the ‘front door to urgent care’, the service will offer patients 24/7 access to urgent clinical assessment and treatment over the phone.

It incorporates NHS 111, out-of-hours GPs and other clinical advice such as dental, medicines and mental health.

A team of clinicians will be available on the phone when needed.

SCAS will work with 10 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) across the Thames Valley to support the development of the service, which will be formally launched in September 2017.

Oxfordshire CCG yesterday refused to disclose the value of the contract, saying it was ‘commercially sensitive’.

Sam Burrows, the senior responsible officer for the bidding process, said: “This is an exciting time, and one which is going to improve patients’ experience by getting them to appropriate care.

“I would like to thank all local residents, stakeholders and clinicians who took the time to give views and feedback during the engagement process.”

Philip Astle, chief operating officer at SCAS, added: “We are delighted to be at the heart of these exciting developments of the NHS 111. SCAS has a strong track record of working with healthcare partners to deliver outstanding care to the people of the Thames Valley, and this transformation of NHS 111 will enable us to build on that record.”

In March this year SCAS received 15,382 calls via the NHS 111 service, of which 88 per cent were answered within 60 seconds and 28 per cent of patients that needed clinical help were passed straight over.