A NON-emergency telephone number for around-the-clock access to NHS services is to be rolled out in Oxfordshire later this month.

The 111 line will dispense advice but also organise out of hours care from GPs, community nurses or an ambulance.

The line will eventually replace services provided by the online service NHS Direct and will mean there are just three numbers for people looking for urgent care — 999 for life-threatening emergencies, their GP practice, and 111.

The exact date of the implementation of the number will be discussed at a meeting of Oxfordshire’s Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee at County Hall on Thursday.

The 111 service in Oxfordshire has been developed by Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group and Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust in partnership with South Central Ambulance Service and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

According to papers expected to be discussed at the meeting callers trying to access the number from the Thame area and some other border areas may not be able to initially.

The 111 service will be staffed by call advisers supported by nurses.

Operators can send out an ambulance, put them straight through to a nurse, book an out-of-hours GP appointment, or direct them to a pharmacist or dentist.

The existing NHS Direct service is also initially answered by trained non-clinical staff, but they are not able to request ambulances or book appointments.

Patients are also called back if they need to speak to a nurse or doctor.