NHS Yorkshire and the Humber tenders for 111 health service

NHS Yorkshire and the Humber is to act as the lead commissioner for the implementation of an NHS non-emergency service. The service, which patients will be able to access by calling 111, will offer NHS care and advice over the telephone and online to 5.5 million individuals across the region. The contract to implement the 111 service will be be worth up to £150m over five years, according to a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union published this week. Around 15 NHS organisations in the region are expected to participate in the deal. "The NHS 111 service for Yorkshire and the Humber will make it easier for the public to access urgent health and social care and will drive improvements in the way in which the NHS delivers care," says the notice. "It is intended that the NHS 111 service provider shall be responsible for delivering or procuring the delivery of a treatment service for patients with an out-of-hours urgent primary care need for patients within the west Yorkshire area, including Craven." The NHS 111 service will eventually replace NHS Direct when it is rolled out nationally by April 2013 and will combine the functions of NHS Direct and local out-of-hours services. A number of other NHS organisations have also started the procurement process for 111 services, with NHS Blackpool publishing a pre-tender in December . The Department of Health last year urged health authorities to press ahead with the full roll out of the service . An 111 service is currently live at seven sites across England, with the first four pilots going live last year at County Durham and Darlington, Lincolnshire, Luton, and Nottingham City. This article is published by Guardian Professional. For weekly updates on news, debate and best practice on public sector IT, join the Government Computing Network here.