A whistleblower has allegedly claimed that the NHS 111 service is dangerously understaffed and putting millions of lives at risk.
Call handler Irsah Tahir who has no medical training, has allegedly said she had been left to make potentially life-or-death decisions because "there was never enough nurses".
She allegedly marked the service as "completely unsafe", saying her colleagues had been overwhelmed by calls from across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire.
Speaking at the Good Morning Britain show on ITV, she also alleged "I'm sure if you look into it lives have been lost because mistakes have been made - we need more nurses, we need more money to help.”
The 111 non-emergency NHS number was set up to offer help to patients and direct them to the best medical care.
The Royal College of Nursing warned the non-emergency number will be "completely overwhelmed" this winter if ministers fail to act.
Stephen Bateman, the chief executive of Derbyshire Health United which runs the NHS 111 service, insisted it was "absolutely safe" and that call handlers were trained. He reportedly told Good Morning Britain "Staff are appropriately and adequately trained to deal with that patient as they call that service." It is believed that Ms Tahir's concerns would be investigated.
An NHS England spokesman admitted there had been issues and "regional variations" with the service.
Labour MPs Keith Vaz and Liz Kendall and Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen are demanding an immediate investigation into the service.
Health Minister Ben Gummer told the Mail that the Government will "look closely" at evidence of any problems.
