Phone First was due to end on 27 November. Northern Ireland's health minister says it has been put on hold.
Phone First was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic in late 2020. It was designed to reduce the risk of the virus spreading among patients. The Belfast Trust closed the line at the end of September to save £500,000.
Phone First may have helped to keep 6,000 callers from ED in September, says Sinn Féin's Philip McGuigan. Belfast Trust says its decision to stop Phone First was taken in context of financial challenge. Southern Trust says it has no plans to withdraw the triage service.
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