GP leaders have reassured patients about the troubled 111 NHS telephone advice line.

The service was thrown into turmoil last month when the main provider NHS Direct said its contracts, including Lancashire and Cumbria, were ‘financially unsustainable’ and it wanted to withdraw.

But Dr Amanda Doyle, speaking on behalf of clinical commissioning groups in Lancashire, said: “We recognise that nationally there were problems when the service was originally launched.

“However, all of our partners in the north west have worked extremely hard to ensure a safe and effective service has been delivered throughout. Recent monitoring has revealed that 99 per cent of calls in the north west have been answered within 60 seconds.

“Moving forward, we have been working very closely with NHS Direct on a managed withdrawal process and negotiations are on-going around new interim providers.”

Dr Doyle added: “In the meantime, callers to 111 will not be affected in any way and can feel confident they will receive prompt and safe support.”