A NORTH-EAST nurse yesterday called on the Government to rethink its abolition of the NHS Direct helpline and its replacement with the new 111 urgent care line.

Sue Stockdale, from Stockton, a nurse advisor for NHS Direct, based at North Tees Hospital, used her speech at the Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) national congress in Harrogate to urge the Government to think again.

Ms Stockdale, who is also the RCN’s national staff-side chairwoman, said she was extremely concerned that the Government is replacing a high quality, nurse-led service with a 111 service where the majority of calls will be dealt with by call handlers with no clinical training or nursing backgrounds.

She made her appeal as the Northern Region of the RCN released figures which show that in the 12 months to February 2010 the national 111 pilot service – which includes County Durham and Darlington – sent emergency 999 ambulances to ten per cent of their callers, compared to four per cent by NHS Direct over the same period.

In addition, just under 40 per cent of 111 calls were referred to a GP classified as urgent compared to just over 20 per cent by NHS Direct.

Labour leader Ed Miliband used his speech to the conference to call on NHS staff and patients to hold the Government to account for difficulties resulting from its controversial health service reforms.

Mr Miliband launched an initiative called NHS Check which will allow people to report online on problems faced by hospitals, clinics and famiy doctors arising from Health Secretary Andrew Lansley’s shake-up of the NHS.

Mr Miliband hailed nurses as the defenders of the health service against market-oriented reforms which would divert resources from the front line and lead to disruption and longer waits for treatment.