Ministers Considering Ban on Expensive NHS Phone Numbers

by Jayne Davison
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Published on 17 December 2008
Ministers Considering Ban on Expensive NHS Numbers

Government ministers are looking at the possibility of banning expensive '084' numbers used by some areas of the NHS.

GP surgeries and other NHS buildings may not be able to use expensive phone numbers in the future, ministers have said.

The government is currently consulting with people throughout England to find whether the service should continue using numbers with an 084 prefix. They can be used for applications such as booking appointments, as they queue callers rather than providing an engaged tone when the line is busy. However, they are more expensive than standard local calls from a landline.

According to phone campaigner David Hickson, this went against the principle that the NHS should be "free at the point of need". He told the BBC's Today programme: "The difference in each call may only be a few pence for some people, but the costs can really mount up for others - especially for people who are using mobiles because they don't have a landline."

However, Richard Vautrey, the deputy chair of the British Medical Association's GP Committee, said that the numbers had made a "dramatic improvement" to patients. Previously, many had complained that they were struggling to get through on the phone.

He added that any accusations that GPs profited from the numbers were a "myth". His practice in Leeds has seen its costs increase from £7,000 to £10,000 annually since putting in the new 084 system.

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Comments (1)

David Hickson
It is not the numbers that make the "dramatic improvement" for patients it is the systems that are funded by the revenue share that they provide. "03" numbers, calls to which must be charged on the same basis as ordinary landlines could be used to support exactly the same systems. Because revenue sharing is not permitted on "03" numbers, the system would therefore have to be funded properly. Mr Vautrey has a strange idea about what is profit. If the phone system costs £10,000 p.a. with a subsidy from patients, the practice is benefiting from the difference between this and what it would (or perhaps now, will) cost without that subsidy. If that is a worthwhile use of NHS funding for the benefits to patients, then fair enough. NHS contractors cannot use money paid by patients as they access NHS services to subsidise their costs and thereby increase any net profit.
17 Dec 2008 15:44
 

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