CONCERNS relating to urgent care services in Cornwall, heard by the county's health and social care services watchdog, have led it to call for a number of improvements.

Healthwatch Cornwall instigated research into what people understood about and how they accessed urgent care support, with the findings indicating that more needs to be done around awareness of the services and the most appropriate times to use them.

Chief executive of Healthwatch Cornwall Debbie Pritchard said: 'Due to the amount of patient feedback, professional statements and the rapidly changing picture of urgent care in the country, we felt an investigation into people's understanding of when to use urgent care services in Cornwall, how they would like to access GPs and what services they would be happy to receive at a pharmacy was needed.

'We know a huge amount of positive work, including Choose Better and providers' and commissioners' own awareness-raising campaigns have taken place. but our recommendations, based on the responses of more than 600 people, include the need for the South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust (SWASFT) to further improve awareness of when to use 999 and 111 appropriately to help prevent inappropriate calls to 999.

'We are also asking health commissioners and Public Health to further increase public awareness of the severity of certain health conditions to ensure the right service is accessed and to consider the future role of pharmacies to provide more non-urgent care services across Cornwall.'

The report also requests that the findings are noted by GP leads in their locality and are disseminated to practice managers and new GP out of hours providers.

Healthwatch Cornwall has learned that SWASFT has given notice on its NHS 111 provision for Cornwall and will no longer deliver the contract after March 31, 2016.

Ms Pritchard added: 'Our report includes formal recommendations that commissioners and providers must respond to in 20 working days and it is anticipated that Healthwatch Cornwall will work with the ambulance service before the end of its contract to address the request for more public awareness raising of the 111 service.

'We hope this will be a long-term commitment and will transfer to the new provider of a 111 service post March 2016.'

NHS Kernow, the commissioners of the NHS 111 service in Cornwall, said the length of time before the contract ends would be ample to ensure a new high quality service is in place, supporting its ambition to create an integrated healthcare system.

NHS Kernow Governing Body member Dr Iain Chorlton said: 'The public is not affected by this decision and should continue to call 111 for 24-hour urgent healthcare advice and we would like to thanks SWASFT for its commitment to providing the NHS 111 non-emergency medical help service.'

Call 0800 0381 281 or visit http://www.healthwatchcornwall.co.uk">www.healthwatchcornwall.co.uk to have your say, read the full Urgent Care report and find out more.