NHS 111: What It Can Help With and How to Use It

NHS 111 is the number to use when you need medical help or advice urgently, but it is not an emergency. You can call 111 for free from a landline or mobile phone, at any hour of any day: the service is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week¹. If you would rather not wait on the phone, NHS 111 online at 111.nhs.uk does the same job through a series of questions, and you can get assessed and directed to the right local service in as little as 90 seconds².

The idea behind 111 is simple: it exists to make it easier and quicker for you to get the right advice or treatment, for your physical or mental health, without going straight to 999 or your local A&E when you do not need to¹. Depending on what you need, 111 might tell you how to look after yourself safely at home, send you to a pharmacist, book you an appointment with an out-of-hours GP or an urgent treatment centre, arrange a callback from a nurse, or tell you to call 999 after all².

This page explains what 111 can help with, what happens on a call, how the online service works, how to reach it if you are deaf or use British Sign Language, and how the service differs in Wales and Scotland. For a quick comparison of 111 and 999 in an emergency, see when to call 111 and when to call 999.

What NHS 111 is for: urgent, but not life-threatening

NHS 111 is for situations where you need medical help or advice quickly, but the situation is not life-threatening and so is less urgent than a 999 call⁷. The London Ambulance Service puts it plainly: "NHS 111 helps you when you need medical help or advice, but it is NOT an emergency."⁸ That covers a wide range of everyday situations: a burn that is not healing, a fever that will not settle, a suspected sprain, sickness that has gone on longer than you expected, or a flare-up of a long-term condition when your GP surgery is closed.

The timing matters as much as the symptom. Use 111 when you need urgent but not life-threatening health advice, or when your GP surgery is closed and you cannot wait for it to reopen⁹. South Central Ambulance Service advises that NHS 111 should be used by all patients who have an urgent medical need, rather than calling 999 or going to your local A&E¹⁰. North West Ambulance Service makes the same point from the other direction: if it is not a life-threatening emergency and nobody needs immediate medical attention, consider other options before dialling 999, such as 111.nhs.uk¹¹.

Some groups should always use the phone service rather than the website. Call 111 instead of using 111 online if you need help for a child under 5, have complex problems caused by an existing medical condition, have a care plan from your doctor for your current health problem, or need to get end-of-life care². The online assessment is built for people aged 5 and over, and the phone advisers can take a fuller history for the situations above.

If you are unsure whether your problem counts as urgent, that uncertainty is itself a reason to contact 111. The advisers are there to assess your needs and direct you to the right care, and it is better to be told to stay at home than to sit on a worsening problem⁷. For the wider picture of which service to use for what, see our guide to urgent treatment centres, minor injury units and A&E.

When to call 999 instead

The rule is straightforward: if you or your loved ones have a life-threatening illness or injury, always use 999¹². For immediate, life-threatening emergencies, continue to call 999¹³. NHS 111 is not a substitute for an ambulance when someone's life is at risk, and if you contact 111 with a genuinely life-threatening problem, you will be told to call 999 or go to A&E².

NHS 24 in Scotland lists the situations that always need 999 or A&E: a life or limb threatening emergency, signs of a heart attack or stroke, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, severe injury, seizures, a severe allergic reaction, or if you have tried to end your life¹⁴. That list is a useful checklist wherever in the UK you live, because these are the emergencies where minutes matter and 111's assessment process is the wrong tool.

Mental health emergencies follow the same rule. For a mental health emergency when someone is in immediate danger or at risk of serious self-harm, they must call 999¹⁵. The 111 mental health option is for crisis support and distress, not for a situation where life is at immediate risk.

One point that sometimes confuses people: calling 111 first does not delay emergency care if the problem turns out to be serious. The assessment is designed to spot danger signs, and one of its possible outcomes is telling you to call 999 or go to A&E². If your symptoms get worse while you are waiting for a callback, do not wait: call 111 again for a child under 5, check symptoms online or call 111 for anyone over 5, and call 999 immediately if there are signs of a life-threatening illness or if you have tried to end your life².

Three ways to reach 111: phone, online or the NHS App

You can get help from NHS 111 three ways: by calling 111, by using 111 online at 111.nhs.uk, or in the NHS App². All three are free to use, and the phone line is free from a landline or mobile¹. Which one suits you depends on your situation, your age and how quickly you need to talk to a person.

The NHS App route is worth knowing about if you already have it set up. You can get help for your symptoms from 111 online inside the NHS App, and you can also request GP appointments, manage hospital referrals and order repeat prescriptions from the same place¹⁶. In an urgent moment, having the app already logged in saves fumbling with passwords. Note that NHS 111 online itself is available in England only¹⁶; Wales and Scotland have their own services, covered later on this page.

Whether you use the online assessment at 111.nhs.uk or the telephone, you answer the same few questions about your main symptoms to get the right information and advice¹⁸. The online service uses the same triage algorithm as the phone service, called NHS Pathways, so the two routes reach the same standards of assessment³. For what to do outside 111's hours of usefulness, see what to do when your GP is closed.

What NHS 111 can help with

The honest answer is: a wide range of help, because 111 is less a treatment service than a signposting and assessment service that can also book care for you. Depending on what you need, you might be advised to call 999 or go to A&E in an emergency; go to an urgent treatment centre; see an evening and weekend GP (the out-of-hours GP); book a callback from a nurse; get urgent specialist support for dental or mental health problems; contact your own GP surgery; see a pharmacist for help with a minor illness; or look after yourself safely at home².

Appointments 111 can arrange

NHS 111 can get you appointments at lots of different places to help make you better, including urgent treatment centres, a dentist, doctors or your GP surgery, and other specialist services¹⁹. If you do need urgent care, NHS 111 can now book you in to be seen quickly and safely in your local A&E¹². In Scotland, the 111 service cannot arrange appointments at your GP, so during normal working hours always contact your own GP for urgent advice and treatment¹⁰.

Mental health support

Call 111 and choose the mental health option when prompted, and you will be put through to speak to a trained mental health professional¹⁷. The service is open to people of all ages, including children, whether they are in crisis themselves or are concerned loved ones calling about someone else⁵. In some areas the option is presented as "111, option 2": if you are in a mental health crisis, call 111 and press option 2 to speak to a mental health professional¹⁵. NHS 111 can also be reached online for mental health help¹⁵. In Wales, the equivalent is to call NHS 111 Wales and press option 2, which connects you directly with a mental health professional in your area²⁰.

Emergency supplies of prescribed medicine

If you have completely run out of a medicine you take regularly, NHS 111 online has a dedicated emergency prescriptions service at 111.nhs.uk/emergency-prescription²¹. It asks questions including where you are and when you are due to take your medicine, and it may refer you to a pharmacy to get your medicine²². The service can arrange an emergency supply of regularly prescribed medicine for someone of any age³. Two limits are worth knowing: 111 online does not issue a prescription, it sends a request to a local pharmacy for a limited supply until you can organise your regular repeat prescription²; and if you need medicine and also have any symptoms, call 111 and speak to an adviser instead²¹. If your medicine is not prescribed as a repeat prescription, you can also get help from 111 online or call 111 to discuss your options²². We cover this in more detail in running out of prescribed medicine: emergency supplies from a pharmacy.

What 111 online will not do

111 online will not give you a diagnosis. What it does is tell you what help you need²³. That distinction is worth setting expectations: you finish an online assessment knowing whether to see a pharmacist, wait for a nurse callback or go to an urgent treatment centre, not what is wrong with you. For stocking up so you are less likely to need urgent help in the first place, see our prescription medicine supply checklist.

What happens when you call: the questions and who answers

NHS 111 calls are answered by health advisors, supported by experienced clinicians, who assess your needs and determine what to do next⁷. Sometimes, if appropriate, your call may be referred to one of the clinicians, a trained nurse or paramedic, for further assessment of your condition or for medical advice⁷. So the first voice you hear is usually a trained adviser rather than a clinician, and a clinician joins the call, or calls you back, only when your answers suggest it would help.

The questions are the same few questions about your main symptoms whether you call or use the website¹⁸. Be ready to describe the symptom that is bothering you most today, how long it has been going on, and anything that makes it better or worse. If you are calling for someone else, it helps to be with them or to know their symptoms, medicines and medical history. You can call 111 for a child under 5, for someone with complex problems from an existing condition, for someone with a care plan, or for someone needing end-of-life care².

If you do not speak English, call 111 and ask for an interpreter². The call handler will try to identify the language you speak and, if an interpreter is needed, quickly connect to Language Line, and a trained interpreter joins the call and translates in real time²⁴. You can ask for a translator at any point during a 999 or 111 call, and if you speak more than one language, state them both, because less common languages may be more difficult to find a translator for⁸.

Calls to 111 are recorded, and the records are maintained securely and only shared with others directly involved with your care⁴. In Wales, all calls are recorded for patients' safety²⁵. NHS 111 Wales also carries out patient experience surveys over the telephone or by post, and taking part is voluntary²⁵.

Using 111 online: an assessment in as little as 90 seconds

NHS 111 online is a digital triage service that can give you advice on treating symptoms when it is not a medical emergency²³. It was launched in 2017 and currently handles around 550,000 completed triages per month³. It is a fast and convenient alternative to the phone service for people who want to access it digitally, and a recent survey showed that 84% of users found it easy or very easy to use⁴.

The process is short. If someone is worried about a symptom, they enter their age, sex and postcode and choose the symptom that is bothering them most today³. The service then asks a series of triage questions about that main symptom²³. It covers over 120 topics, which cover the most common symptoms²³. You can get assessed and directed to the right local service in as little as 90 seconds from your own home⁴.

The possible outcomes mirror the phone service. A nurse may give you a call to discuss your symptoms and advise you on what to do next; you might be referred to other urgent care services you can visit yourself, such as A&E, an urgent treatment centre, a walk-in centre or evening and weekend GPs; during daytime weekday hours you might be advised to contact your GP; and if it is safe to look after yourself, you will be told how to do that at home²³.

Two limits to remember. First, the online service is for people aged 5 and over: call 111 if you need help for a child under 5². Second, NHS 111 online is available in England only¹⁶, so if you are in Wales or Scotland, use the services described later on this page. The online service is operational and supported 24 hours a day, 365 days a year³, so there is no closing time to work around.

Calling 111 or 999 if you are deaf or use BSL

If you are deaf and want to use the phone service, you can use the NHS 111 British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter service²⁶. NHS 111 offers a video relay service that allows you to make a video call to a BSL interpreter, who will call an NHS 111 adviser on your behalf and enable a real-time conversation via the interpreter¹³. The interpreter telephones the adviser to enable a two-way conversation, assess symptoms, give healthcare advice and direct you to the local service you need¹⁷. The service is at signvideo.co.uk/nhs111²⁷.

For 999, there is a separate service: 999 BSL at 999bsl.co.uk¹⁵. A deaf person makes a video call to a qualified and experienced BSL interpreter in a call centre; the interpreter translates what the deaf person signs into spoken English for the emergency services and signs back what the emergency services say²⁸. In Wales, BSL users can access NHS 111 Wales via SignVideo, and the Welsh ambulance service's additional support covers people who are deaf, BSL users or hard of hearing²⁴.

If video relay does not suit you, there are text-based routes:

• Call 18001 111 on a text phone²⁶
• Call 18001111 using text relay⁶
• Text relay users can call 18001 111, 24 hours a day³

Be aware that texting 999, the older emergency SMS route, relies on written English, and Ofcom notes this can lead to misunderstandings for BSL users in emergencies²⁸, which is why the video relay services exist. There is also a large print guide and an easy read guide to NHS 111 for people who find standard print difficult²⁶. If a power cut or network failure is part of your worry, our guide to staying informed and in touch in an emergency covers backup ways to make contact.

111 in Wales and Scotland

The 111 number works across the UK, but the services behind it are organised nation by nation, and there are real differences in what each can do.

Wales: NHS 111 Wales

In Wales the service is NHS 111 Wales, and its website at 111.wales.nhs.uk is the home of health advice and information for people living in Wales²⁹. If you feel unwell and are unsure where to go for help, the NHS 111 Wales website should be your first port of call: you can check symptoms and find out what to do next³⁰. The phone service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week³¹.

When you first call 111 in Wales, you speak to a trained call handler who may be able to deal with your issue; if the call handler determines you need to speak to a clinical advisor, you will be called back as soon as one becomes available³¹. You may be put through to a Nurse Adviser, Health Information Adviser or a Dental Health Adviser²⁵. Advisers may tell you how to look after yourself at home, recommend seeing a pharmacist, advise seeing your local doctor or going to hospital, or call an ambulance on your behalf if the problem is very serious²⁵. During busy periods, when all advisers are on other calls, a callback will be within a four hour timeframe²⁵.

Two things are specific to Wales. You can remain anonymous if you feel uncomfortable giving your details²⁵. And for urgent mental health support, call NHS 111 and press option 2 to be placed in direct contact with a mental health worker in your area; the service is available for people of all ages, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in all areas of Wales²⁵. NHS 111 Wales also offers access through Language Line, Relay 24 and Sign Video³¹. One thing 111 in Wales cannot do is arrange a COVID-19 test or vaccination or give self-isolation advice; you must call 119 for that³¹.

Scotland: NHS 24 on 111

In Scotland, 111 is answered by NHS 24. Phone 111 if you think you need A&E but it is not life or limb threatening, if you need support with mental health distress, or if you need urgent care and your GP, pharmacy or dental practice is closed¹⁴. As in England, phone 999 or go to A&E for a life or limb threatening emergency, signs of a heart attack or stroke, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, severe injury, seizures, a severe allergic reaction, or if you have tried to end your life¹⁴. The service can also help if you are in mental distress³².

One difference from England matters for appointments: NHS 24 states that the 111 service cannot arrange appointments at your GP, and during normal working hours you should always contact your own GP for urgent advice and treatment¹⁴. So if you are in Scotland and hoping 111 will book you a GP slot, it will not; it will direct you to your practice instead.

Getting through on busy days

NHS 111 is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by a team of fully trained advisers, and NHS 111 online is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week⁴. The phone service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year¹³. But "always open" is not the same as "always quiet", and demand rises sharply in winter and during outbreaks, when ambulance services publish extra guidance on getting the right help³³.

If the phone line is busy, the online service is the fastest alternative: an assessment in as little as 90 seconds, with no queue⁴. Remember the age limit of 5 and over online, and remember that anyone with a life-threatening emergency should be on 999, not waiting for 111².

In Wales, the service publishes quieter calling times: Monday to Friday before 5pm and after 9pm, and Saturday and Sunday before 9am and after 3pm³¹. If your call is not urgent enough to need an immediate answer, calling in those windows shortens your wait. If all advisers are on other calls, you will be offered a callback within a four hour timeframe²⁵. If symptoms worsen while you wait, call again, and call 999 if there are signs of a life-threatening illness².

For households that want to be ready before illness strikes, our medicine cabinet checklist and staying at home when ill: supplies checklist cover what to keep in so that a minor problem at midnight does not become a 111 call at all.