Ofcom also confirmed that the Department of Health intends that calls to the number will be free.
Every year Ofcom allocates millions of telephone numbers to communications providers for homes, businesses and organisations to use. The Department of Health asked Ofcom to decide how to allocate 111 for this special purpose.
Ofcom’s statement explains how making 111 available will make the best use of the UK’s telephone number resource.
The Department of Health intends for the service to provide advice and information to the public when they need medical help urgently but the situation is not life-threatening.
Ofcom’s statement on 111 can be found at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/three_number_non_emergency/statement/
*999 or 112 will continue to be the number to call in an emergency situation (both numbers provide access to the emergency services in the UK).