Practices use of 0844 numbers to be investigated
- 29 January 2008
The government is to gather evidence about the use of 0844 telephone numbers by GP practices and its impact on patients, ahead of a possible clampdown on their use.
Health minister Ivan Lewis told a House of Commons debate that GPs making use of 0844 numbers should consider whether it is “best professional practice” to charge patients above the local rate.
He also gave a “cast iron guarantee” that the government will not allow NHS Direct to use an 0845 number when the NHS Direct contract comes to an end.
Lewis said: “It is entirely unacceptable for any professional working under the banner of the national health service to rip patients off by charging them more than the standard local call rate for contacting their surgeries. That is the Government’s position.”
He told MPs that there were difficulties since GPs were self-employed, and also because some individuals had already signed up to contracts with telephone companies, but said he was happy to send a “strong signal” to practices considering signing up for 0844 numbers.
The health minister was taking part in an adjournment debate secured by Graham Stuart MP for Beverley and Holderness who claimed he had been contacted by patients after almost a dozen GP surgeries in east Yorkshire switched to 0844 numbers.
He told the House of Commons that service provider Network Europe Group have more than 1,200 GP surgeries using 0844 numbers and claimed that more than 300 other practices have had 0844 or 0845 numbers installed by other companies.
Lewis said a motion tabled in the House of Commons in November calling for an end to the use of 0844 numbers had been signed by almost 60 MPs and that the Department of Health had received more than 100 letters of complaint on the issue since January 2007.
He added: “This issue has united politicians, residents and patients groups alike – people who can spot an unfair practice when they see one, and who do not like it when the chronically ill, the old, the disabled and those on low incomes are taken advantage of. That is what I believe is currently happening, under the present system, under the present Government.”
The BMA’s General Practitioner Committee has defended the use of 0844 numbers. Last September it hit back at press criticism of use of 0844 numbers by GP practices which is claimed was “particularly galling” when many other public services including NHS Direct and many hospitals also use similar numbers.
It added: “Whilst we fully support the view that practices should not seek to make significant financial gains from their telephone systems, there is no evidence to suggest that using an 084 number allows practices to do this. In fact, many practices using 084 numbers are often able to deal with their calls more efficiently and quickly, therefore costing patients less overall.”
Link
Related articles
Practices encouraged to use new 03 numbers
National rate NHS phone numbers to be banned by April
