Figures have revealed Devon has the worst NHS 111 service in the country, ahead of the crucial Tiverton and Honiton by-election on Thursday.

Over one third of callers to the NHS 111 number in Devon gave up before getting through in April, more than anywhere else in England. It also took callers an average of 11 minutes to get through to NHS 111, nearly double the national average over the same period. Fewer than one in twelve of those in Devon promised a call back by NHS 111 received one within 20 minutes, the lowest proportion in the country.

Across the country, over a quarter of a million calls to the NHS 111 service were abandoned in April this year. NHS targets state that on average callers shouldn’t be held in a queue for more than 20 seconds.

The Liberal Democrats said the figures show health services in Devon are being “run into the ground” after years of neglect under the Conservatives. The party is demanding urgent action from the government to fix delays to the NHS 111 service that are leaving thousands of people being left without vital medical advice. This would include an emergency recruitment drive of NHS 111 call handlers, to help bring waiting times down and make sure people can get the medical advice they need.

Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

“At a time when it can take hours for an ambulance to arrive and GP appointments are hard to come by, it is deeply concerning that getting through to 111 is becoming so difficult. Each abandoned call represents someone unable to access the medical advice they urgently need.

“The government needs to get a handle on this issue by recruiting more 111 call handlers, especially in areas like Devon where waiting times are unacceptably long.

“Failure to get these wait times under control risks piling even more pressure on our ambulance services, which are already stretched to breaking point, as desperate people struggling to get through turn to 999 instead.”

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