NHS Direct wants to withdraw from its "financially unsustainable" contracts to run NHS 111, the service for urgent-but-not-urgent-enough-for-999 health concerns. About time too. It promises to "provide a safe and reliable … service until alternative arrangements can be made". How? It hasn't managed so far.

It certainly failed Elaine the hairdresser. Her husband had cancer, came home after weeks in hospital and had a dreadful panic attack, so Elaine called 999. The paramedic was round in a flash, an ambulance followed and soon the husband was better. Elaine cannot praise these NHS people enough.

Everything was perfect, until 111 joined in. Apparently they had to be told. The paramedic phoned them, they would phone Elaine back. In 10 minutes. An hour passed. 3am. Elaine rang 111. A doctor would ring her back. In 10 minutes. Another hour passed. The doctor rang. 4am. She told him everything, went to bed knackered … then ring-ring! At 5am, another 111 doctor, needing to know everything all over again. And he ordered Elaine to repeat it all to her GP in the morning. Why? God knows. By now Elaine was poorly too, maddened by sleep deprivation and 111.

Perhaps she's just one unfortunate example. No. NHS 111 nearly finished off her friend Sharon's 88-year-old mother, who was sick in the night, but was not running a temperature, so – not wanting to bother 999 – Sharon rang 111. "A nurse will ring you back." Yes, you guessed right. Hours later a nurse rang, heard the story and told Sharon she needed to speak to a doctor. "The doctor will ring you back." He didn't. Several calls and 11 hours later, with her mother now seriously poorly and Sharon about to call an ambulance, the doctor arrives at last, and the mother only just makes it to intensive care.

When will we ever learn? But luckily I've found one joke. Dame Barbara Hakin of NHS England, promises improvements have been made. "Over 90% of NHS 111 calls are now answered in under a minute," says she "and patients are rating the service highly." Ha ha ha!