There are times when one wonders the logic in the way Government spends the small amount of money we now have available. Although I am now a grandparent I still have daily charge of a baby, a 2 year old, a 3year old boy who continually tries to cause himself serious harm (its called playing and being a boy) a 6year old and an 11 year old. Days are fun but stressful and when an emergency occurs even I panic but 999 stays firmly in my mind. Do I have time or the ability at that moment to make decision about which number to call, NO, I need help and I need it quickly. There are also concerns over the suggestion that calls to 111 will incur a charge. If it passes through the consultation phase, the new system will be brought in next year. – Although not before it had cost the taxpayer more than £40million. The Department of Health’s advice is to call 111 if you need ‘urgent advice, care, treatment or diagnosis’. However, critics point out there is a very thin dividing line between this and an emergency call to 999. I think we are going down the road to nowhere with this. If someone has an emergency they are in a state of panic. ‘Are they really in a position to decide whether it is such an emergency they should be calling 999 or whether they should make do with 111 or NHS Direct? It seems absolutely ridiculous to me to add more numbers. We have all been brought up to know that 999 is the number to dial in a health emergency. Adding new numbers will just create confusion.’ 111 has been rejected in the past as an emergency number for technical reasons. This is because phone lines blowing in the wind can trigger a pulse that mirrors the 111 number, causing phantom calls. It is also the sort of number a child might dial accidentally, or could inadvertently be triggered on a mobile phone as it is carried in a bag or pocket. 111 was dropped as the number for the fire department in Norway because it was dialed accidentally on too many occasions.