DH backs away from 084 telephone ban

Tags: 084 child Contract DH GP GPs NHS Direct

09 Sep 2008

The Department of Health has no immediate plans to ban use of 084 numbers in the NHS, health minister Ben Bradshaw has indicated.

In a letter to Rob Marris MP, the health minister gave no indication that the use of such numbers by GP practices and organisations such as NHS Direct would be prohibited.

Instead he told the MP, who has been campaigning against the use of 084 numbers by the health service, that the DH was currently analysing the information from a data collection exercise on the use of 084 numbers by the NHS.

He added: “In time we will publish guidance about how primary care trusts can ensure that patients are able to access their GPs or other NHS organisations via the best possible service, without placing additional costs on them.”

The health minister’s letter has been criticised by 084 campaigner David Hickson, who described it as a “wholly unsatisfactory response”. More than 1,000 GP practices and NHS Direct use an 084 number.

He added: “This clearly means that patients will simply be made aware of how they can use the internet to book appointments with their GP or hospital and to access health advice from NHS Direct, so as to avoid paying premium telephone charges.

“I must doubt that this will be accompanied by an announcement of how all NHS patients will be provided with free computers and internet access, along with all necessary assistance for those unwilling or unable to use this technology.”

However Rob Marris told EHI Primary Care that he believed the planned DH guidance was just an “interim stage” in moves towards banning 084 numbers in the NHS.

He added: “I think 084 numbers will go across government eventually but it is going to take quite a long time. The broad proposition that the health service should be free at the point of need has cross party support.”

In an adjournment debate earlier this year, Marris was given a “cast iron guarantee” by health minister Ivan Lewis that the government would not allow NHS Direct to use an 0845 number when its contract comes to an end.

However, in his letter, Bradshaw said that NHS Direct would “retain its current number until we have achieved clarity on its future role and function in implementing a national 3-digit number for urgent care.”

Marris said he did not believe NHS Direct should use an 0845 number. He added: “If your child is sick and you want to phone up in the middle of the night because you are worried they might have meningitis you shouldn’t have to pay for that service.”

Hickson has now written to nearly 100 MPs to raise his concerns and claims that there is no indication that NHS Direct will ever use the 03 non-geographical number reserved for its use.

He adds: “There is no justification for continuing to subject NHS patients to access fees for NHS services that are not sanctioned by parliament, for one day longer.”

Fiona Barr

Reader's Comments

Win a Free IT System

09 Sep 08 15:09

If we switch every health number to 089 and have a bright cheerful message, say one minute long, a built in "we value your call" pause for 2 minutes and charge a pound a minute, allowing for a 3 minute conversation, how long will it take to recoup the cost of NPfIT?

Call 0898666666 and leave your answer after the pre recorded message from Ben Bradshaw.

The winner will be drawn on 31st February

Calls cost £3.99 per minute this might involve a long call

Calling from abroad

10 Sep 08 08:09

I would like to point out that many 08 numbers cannot be called from outside the UK. This means that if you are (say) away on holiday and need to contact your GP in a medical emergency, you will not be able to.

I found this out to my cost last year when my wife became seriously ill during a holiday abroad and the attending pysician urgently needed to speak to our GP and was unable to because the practice was using an 084 number.

We were lucky, a member of staff at our GP practice is a family friend and we happened to have her personal mobile phone number and she was at work.

My message to any organisation who uses an 08 number, is to make sure that the number is enabled for international calling.

Publish the normal numbers?

10 Sep 08 08:09

My GP uses these nasty 0844 numbers and I have to wait...........

The last call cost me 80p, despite I having 'free' landlines calls facility which doesn't cover these calls. The Surgery is a local code, so its ridiculous.

I think surgeries should be required to publish the regular BT local code access number so people can make a choice. There is a website that translates 0870 numbers into proper (cheaper) numbers.

We need a surgery call number website

Another DOH dodge

10 Sep 08 10:09

Why have NHS services (or any other service come to that) adopted these 08 numbers? - simple - revenue sharing. A GP surgery has little need to adopt an 08 number but is no doubt happy to eek a few extra quid from it's patients whilst providing a "better" service. NHS direct on an 08 number is quite simply a disgrace when there are the 03 numbers readily available which cost the same as a geographic land line and included in most all call tarffs that many people are on these days.

Rarely justifiable

11 Sep 08 18:09

This problem is compounded by the salesperson from the telecomms provider often advising the practice that their current phone system can no longer be upgraded / isn't compatible with the new exchanges / is obsolete (take your pick). Believe me, as someone involved in the technology, those claims are very rarely true. Still, the rep gets his commission and the practice gets a nice new income stream. With such self interests, it'll take an awful lot of pressure to stop this.