NHS 111 and Urgent Care

When you need help quickly, but it is not a life-threatening emergency, a range of services can help. The services outlined below can give advice and treatment if your GP practice is closed or if you are injured or ill and are unsure what to do. 

Please call NHS 111 if you need urgent care before walking into the local Emergency Department (ED), or as many people know it, A&E.

NHS 111

NHS 111 can help if you have an urgent medical problem and need advice.

Get help from NHS 111 online or on the phone

To get help from NHS 111, you can:

  • go to 111.nhs.UK (for people aged five and over)
  • call 111

NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Calls are free from landlines and mobiles.

If you have difficulties communicating or hearing, you can:

  • call 18001 111 on a textphone
  • use the NHS 111 British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter service if you are deaf and want to
  • use the phone service

How NHS 111 works

You answer questions about your symptoms on the website or by speaking to a fully trained adviser on the phone. You can also ask for a translator if you need one.

Depending on the situation, you will:

  • Find out what local services can help
  • Be connected to a nurse, emergency dentist, pharmacist, or GP
  • Get a face-to-face appointment if you need one
  • Be told how to get any medicine you need
  • Get Self-Care (link) advice.

Easy-to-read information on the NHS 111 service can be downloaded from the NHS 111 assets website.

NHS 111 does not replace 999 or A&E for medical emergencies - when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk. NHS 111 does not replace 999 or A&E for medical emergencies - when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk. 

We strongly encourage patients to call NHS 111 before walking into the local A&E. This is to ensure that patients can access the clinical service they need the first time. In addition, it will help the NHS maintain social distancing, reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19 and keep patients and staff as safe as possible.

You will be spoken to by a trained professional and a clinician if needed. If you decide to go to the emergency department, you will be given a suitable time to attend and staff at the hospital will be expecting you. That means less waiting around and faster treatment.

Patients and a wide range of healthcare professionals helped redesign the NHS 111 service for Surrey. The service aims to meet most healthcare needs on the first call – including a consultation with a doctor, nurse, dentist, pharmacist or mental health specialist if needed and appointments booked with many local services.

Care UK delivers NHS 111 and GP out-of-hours services in Surrey Heartlands.