a nonemergency medical telephone helpline number operating in England. The service is available 24 hours a day to give health-care advice to patients with urgent but not life-threatening health problems, or to direct them to the local service best equipped to provide assistance. It is staffed by trained call handlers, supported by nurses and paramedics. NHS 111 was initially commissioned on a regional basis, but is accountable to *clinical commissioning groups. It replaced the NHS Direct phone service.
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