Unreliable capture and onward use of telephone helpline information
First to latest report 6 Aug 2014 — 16 Jun 2026
Reports that mention this concern
8
Times this concern has been raised
8
Stated actions linked to this concern
8
What this concern includes
Includes failures of a telephone helpline's dedicated information-handling process, including recording calls, callers or outcomes and transferring relevant information to the responsible clinical or operational decision-makers.
What is not included
Excludes generic documentation failures unrelated to telephone helpline information.
Excludes deficiencies in helpline staffing, training or triage unless they directly concern the capture or onward use of helpline information.
Excludes failures of non-telephone communication channels and unrelated referral or record systems.
Trends
Reports over time
Reports mentioning this concern, over time
Reports about this concern issued each year.
* 2026 is projected from reports observed to 7 Sep 2026.
Most frequent recipients
Most frequent recipients
Reports about this concern sent to each recipient.
NHS England3
East London NHS Foundation Trust2
Appello Careline Limited1
Association of Ambulance Chief Executives1
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital1
Department for Transport1
Department of Health and Social Care1
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust1
Individual (care of Medical Protection Society)1
NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board1
Reigate & Banstead Borough Council1
Royal Cornwall Hospital1
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust1
Surrey Police1
Sutton And East Surrey Water PLC1
NHS trust4
Executive non-departmental public body3
Healthcare site2
Ministerial department2
English district council1
Health-sector membership body1
Integrated care board1
Police force1
Private limited company1
Professional membership body1
Public limited company1
Type not available1
Reports and published responses 8 reports
See individual reports that have raised this concern, and the actions taken in response
West Sussex, Brighton and Hove
Concerns raised1
Failure to obtain and pass on key emergency information from careline callers
This report raised 8 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked responses
Appello Careline Limited
Association of Ambulance Chief Executives
NHS England
TSA
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.3
Appello Careline Limited
Introduce a triage enhancement requiring operators to establish telephone access and explicitly communicate its absence to emergency services.
Appello Careline Limited
Reinforce information capture and communication through continuing operator training, call audits, supervision and operational reviews.
TSA
Strengthen CPD and learning programmes for QSF-certified organisations, covering records, operator competence, training, decision-support tools, escalation, and information-sharing with emergency services.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.4
Appello Careline Limited
Existing triage processes are considered appropriate for identifying and communicating relevant information to emergency services.
Existing arrangements considered sufficientThe respondent said that existing arrangements were sufficient, so no further action was needed.
Appello Careline Limited
Existing procedures, training, auditing and continuous improvement provide a robust framework for managing the identified risks.
Existing arrangements considered sufficientThe respondent said that existing arrangements were sufficient, so no further action was needed.
Association of Ambulance Chief Executives
The specific case concerns should be addressed by Appello and SECAMB, rather than by the national ambulance membership organisation.
Redirects responsibilityThe respondent said that another organisation was responsible for deciding or taking action.
NHS England
Operational concerns about ambulance care are the responsibility of SECAMB, which is best placed to respond directly.
Redirects responsibilityThe respondent said that another organisation was responsible for deciding or taking action.
East Riding and Hull
Concerns raised1
Failure to feed back telephone helpline information about autistic children to the weekly audit meeting and clinical priority decision-makers
Linked response
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.3
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust
Require increased-risk contacts handled by duty workers to be discussed within three working days at the next waiting-list or multidisciplinary team meeting.
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust
Introduce a duty-team risk review form capturing waiting-list calls, information received, actions, and clinical rationale for meeting-based review.
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust
Include checks of risk review form use in future record-keeping audits.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust
The Trust disputes that the reported case involved its services or provides evidence of a systemic issue affecting CAMHS waiting-list contacts.
Disputes the concernThe respondent disagreed with part of the concern or the basis for it.
Inner North London
Concerns raised1
Failure to record and pass on safety-relevant information
This report raised 9 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.1
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Cover the administrators’ office during handover and allocate the patient/carer phone to a named, logged staff member.
Inner North London
Concerns raised1
Failure to record crisis-line calls in the medical record
This report raised 4 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.1
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Provide medical-records training for senior nurses and Trust managers on record keeping, observations and retrospective entries.
Inner South London
Concerns raised1
Failure to record reported high temperature in telephone notes
This report raised 2 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
There was no suggestion that a temperature spike was mentioned during the telephone call and then not recorded or acted upon.
Disputes the concernThe respondent disagreed with part of the concern or the basis for it.
West Yorkshire (Western)
Concerns raised1
Failure to record conclusions and advice from earlier calls
This report raised 8 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
No linked response statements
No respondent-stated action or position is linked to these concerns in the published data.
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
Concerns raised1
Failure to formally record Maternity Helpline calls and outcomes
This report raised 13 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
No linked response statements
No respondent-stated action or position is linked to these concerns in the published data.
Surrey
Concerns raised1
Failure to pass public calls about serious road-network safety issues directly to those responsible for action
This report raised 6 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
No linked response statements
No respondent-stated action or position is linked to these concerns in the published data.
Actions and positions describe what organisations say in published responses. Implementation is not independently verified.
Actions and positions describe what organisations say in published responses. Implementation is not independently verified.