More than a 30 million users visited NHS 111 online during the coronavirus pandemic, according to NHS Digital figures.
As more people used digital channels to access medical help or health advice, the national non-emergency medical helpline saw a record usage during the times of lockdown and social distancing over the past four months.
Between 26 February and 11 August, over six million of people completed an online coronavirus assessment and received health advice based on the symptoms or travel history they reported.
At the peak of the crisis in mid-March the service was used more than 950,000 times a day, 95 times higher than it normally would be.
“These figures show how important the use of digital tools is in supplying vital health information to members of the public during this outbreak, Ben Davison, director of Citizen Health Tech at NHS Digital, said.
“Since the start of the pandemic we have seen the number of NHS 111 online users increase dramatically. This is helping to relieve the burden on frontline NHS services as well as helping to get vast numbers of people the correct advice for their condition.
“This is a fluid and fast-changing situation and we are working closely with NHSX, NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care and other organisations across the system to develop robust and resilient solutions to a range of new issues.”
