Using NHS 111: Common Questions

Using NHS 111: the questions people actually ask, answered from published guidance.

Key takeaways

• Cost: free from any phone, including mobiles with no credit
• Hours: twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year
• Most useful single change: Have your GP practice name and a list of medicines to hand before you call.
• Commonest mistake: Using 111 for a life-threatening emergency instead of 999.
• See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to get help" below apply to you.

What is Using NHS 111?

A free urgent care line and website that assesses your symptoms and tells you where to go.

Why does it matter?

It is the fastest way to find out whether something needs A&E, a GP, a pharmacy or nothing at all, and it can book you in directly.

What it can arrange for Using NHS 111?

Appointments, callbacks from a nurse or doctor, and an ambulance if needed.

What is the single most useful thing to do?

Have your GP practice name and a list of medicines to hand before you call.

What is the most common mistake?

Using 111 for a life-threatening emergency instead of 999.

When should I see a doctor?

Call 999 instead of 111 for chest pain, severe breathlessness, heavy bleeding, seizures, or a child who is floppy, will not wake or has a rash that does not fade under pressure.

Where to go next

• Using NHS 111: The Practical To-Do List
• Using NHS 111: Separating Myth From Guidance
• Using NHS 111 — the reference entry
• Having an MRI Scan: What Published Guidance Supports
• Having a Blood Test: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise

When to get help

Call 999 instead of 111 for chest pain, severe breathlessness, heavy bleeding, seizures, or a child who is floppy, will not wake or has a rash that does not fade under pressure.

Where this comes from

• NHS — NHS 111

How this page was put together

Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.

Medical disclaimer

This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.