NHS 111: How untrained staff answered calls, patients were put on hold and doctors' warnings ignored Some 70% of patients in one region hung up because no-one answered Managers so short-staffed that people answered phone without training Concerns patients get given bad advice or sent to clinics 30 miles away The chaos sparked by the introduction of the NHS 111 helpline has been laid bare by a leaked internal report. It reveals how calls were answered by untrained staff, patients were put on hold and doctors" warnings ignored. The 86-page confidential review shows nearly three-quarters of patients in one of the country's largest regions hung up in frustration because no one answered their call. Frustration: An 86-page confidential review shows nearly three-quarters of patients in one of the country's largest regions hung up in frustration because no one answered their call (file picture) And managers were so short-staffed that they allowed people to answer the phone even if they hadn't had any training. The Mail has highlighted the concerns surrounding the helpline ever since it was gradually brought in across the country earlier this year. It was designed to replace NHS Direct and out-of-hours GP contact numbers, providing patients with round-the-clock medical advice. But it is manned by largely unqualified staff with only a few weeks" training and there are concerns patients are being given bad advice, or even being sent to clinics 30 miles away. One GP said his patient died because they had to wait so long for an ambulance and there have been reports of elderly callers being put on hold for 90 minutes. Now for the first time an official report commissioned by NHS England - the new body in charge of the health service - has revealed the full extent of the failings. The document examines the running of the helpline in the West Midlands and the North West, where it was suspended just days after its launch in April because it was deemed unsafe. NHS England had initially refused to release the embarrassing report, but it was leaked to Pulse - a specialist GPs" magazine. The document reveals how call centre staff were allowed to man the helpline even though they had not been trained. And other more experienced workers found themselves unable to take calls because they couldn't log on to their computers. It also shows that 70 per cent of patients in the North West who dialled the helpline hung up in frustration because their calls weren't answered. Hospitals may have to close in order to stave off a financial crisis in the NHS, senior health leaders have warned. They called for a major overhaul which would see more patients treated by nurses and doctors at home rather than on wards. The NHS Confederation, which represents health service managers, argued many patients would not need to be admitted to hospital if there was better care available near to their homes. In a controversial report it suggests some of the money spent running hospitals could be used to fund local specialist clinics and better district nursing services. Mike Farrar, head of the confederation, said 6,000 beds may have to be cut - the equivalent of 20 hospitals - to save money. And nearly 90 per cent of patients in this area were put on hold for at least a minute before their call was picked up - with some reportedly having to wait for an hour and a half. Dr Richard Vautrey, deputy chair of the British Medical Association's GP Committee, said: "This really confirms what we've been saying all along - that it was rolled out too hastily. It was done on the cheap and didn't invest in the resources to hire experienced clinicians - doctors and nurses. He pointed out that at the old NHS Direct helpline, a total of 80 per cent of the staff were trained doctors and nurses. By comparison at 111 around 80 per cent of the workforce are unqualified and only the remaining 20 per cent are actually doctors and nurses. Last week the Mail highlighted the concerns of a whistleblower who had worked for NHS 111. He revealed that patients were routinely made to wait 14 hours to be visited by a doctor. The unnamed employee also disclosed how managers ordered him not to tell the patients how long they would be kept waiting unless they complained. A spokesman for NHS England said the report's findings would be taken "extremely seriously." But Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association said: "The key thing is that the public don't have confidence in the system. They don't know who they are speaking to and they don't know how qualified they are. hey are getting advice but they don't know whether it is correct.