Calling 101 and 111 Non-Emergency Numbers

The police force and NHS have added non-emergency 24-hour contact numbers for callers that need help but without the situation is an emergency.

Calls to the police on the 101 number should be made when an incident has already occurred, such as theft, damage or a minor traffic accident. Only for serious incidents, when a crime is taking place should you call the 999 number.

NHS has also released the number 111 for when you need medical help fast but not in an emergency.

It is possible to call these numbers from your Birchills phone system, by simply prefixing the number with 44*. So, for 101 non-emergency police, it's 44*101. For NHS (111) it's 44*111.

As more 3-digit numbers are introduced in the UK, dialling them from your Birchills phone will require the same 44* prefix to be added.

Of course, in the event of an emergency, you should still use the regular 999/112 emergency service, both of which are reserved numbers on the system and can be dialled without any prefix.