Freeview plans for NHS Direct
- 29 June 2006
NHS Direct is planning to make its interactive digital TV service available via Freeview.
The health information service, which recorded its busiest ever month in May, is in negotiations to expand its digital TV service, which is currently only available on Sky, to cover Freeview as well.
The health helpline predicts that it gets around half a million visits to its interactive service although it says the technology means it is less easy to assess viewing figures accurately than for the online or telephone service.
Dr Mike Sadler, medical director and chief operating officer for NHS Direct, told EHI Primary Care: “The digital TV service is important because it is used by a different section of the population to those who use the internet service and expanding to Freeview would obviously increase our reach quite markedly.”
A total of 2.7 million contacts were made to NHS Direct in May, either via the internet, digital TV or one of the call centres. Of those the majority, about 1.5 million, were online visits to the NHS Direct website with the rest divided between telephone contacts and digital interactive TV.
The organisation is half way through a consultation exercise with staff over proposals to close 12 call centres with the likelihood that hundreds of staff will be made redundant.
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