SilentCallsVictim wrote on Sep 9^th, 2008 at 10:08pm:


Why must we show the necessary degree of patience when these numbers can both be created and liquidated overnight at the touch of a few buttons.

All that is needed is legislation and/or governmental rules making the use of these numbers non permissible.  Any organisation using them must then bear the costs of changing out of their own budgets.  All of the relevant contracts will undoubtedly contain force majeure clauses allowing them to be renegotiated in the event of government legislation or other rules that makes a change in the terms of the contract essential.

It is only because we lack the revolutionary instincts of our Gallic colleagues that the government is able to foist these ripoffs on us in the first place.

New to the site and really only signed up to the forums just to post this...

To add to the 0844 scam debate.
My GP moved to 0844 last year and theres many cases where i was stuck on hold for ages before getting any sort of option.

In todays case I actually need to see a dr but when i phoned up this morning I was stuck on hold for 30 minutes before i eventually gave up and came here to get the land line number.

When phoning the land line number i got straight through with no fuss whatsoever

Is me waiting 30 minutes a pure mistake or a planed scam?

This whole system is sodding gross and really made my blood boil...

My GP decides that the only time you can call to make an appointment is at 8:30 in the morning. And they make patients all call and fight for appointments. Its often the case that by 9:30 there are no appointments left.

And you can only make appointments for the day you call. You cant arrange for a next day or next week appointment.
By forcing all patients to call at that time they ensure long queues and high 0844 revenue.

Though this part is my fault. 0844 numbers are more expensive on mobile phones. And i used my mobile to make the appointment because it was by my bed and was my alarm clock to make sure i woke up in time to make the appointment.

Why has no watch dog or anything at all investigated this very immoral practice?

Thanks
Simon

Nutsy wrote on Sep 16^th, 2008 at 11:06am:


I suspect a bit of each is true.

I would imagine the landline number is one that the surgery uses for non patient calls from business suppliers, consultants in hospitals and of course from their own family and friends.  It seems clear your surgery regards it as unacceptable to make those people use an 0844 number or wait in a queue so also have a geographic phone number specially for them.  So hence you get straight through on a priority line and unless and until they reach the stage of saying they won't talk to mere patients on this number you then jump the queue.

On the other hand the appalling queues you experience on the 0844 number are what I would call a planned scam by the telco that sold the system to your GP practice and/or the GP practice itself.

By outrageously insisting that you must call at a certain time of day (almost as though you were queuing at the door of the surgery at that time but electronically) the likelihood of queues they cannot cope with is completely maximised and this means both the telco who sold the system and your GP's practice benefit as each gets a revenue share rakeoff that increases the longer and more unacceptable the queues are.  Outrageously these GP practices always claim they got the system to reduce phone queues for patients but the new system of sharing revenue to pay back the debt they have incurred on the phone equipment gives and them the telco that sold it every incentive to maximise the queues.  They have no incentive at all to answer the phone quickly.

Quote:


This sounds utterly despicable.  My understanding was that GPs have to offer you advance appointments in a number of days time if that is what is more convenient to you.  However what they are not allowed to do is to force you to come in several days in the future when you want to be seen today.  I would file an official complaint with your local PCT, also try to get your local newspaper interested in covering the story (call up and ask to speak to a report or the edtorial team) and go to see your local MP about this.  Or you can contact your MP via email using www.writetothem.com

They are completely suiting themselves here on the basis that they are a monopoly and that if they offer outrageous service of this kind you can't take yourself elsewhere in the short term and it is still very difficult to move GP practice anyway.  They also get a large amount of money just by having you on their books and regardless of whether or not you manage to see your doctor.

What is your local PCT.  I will provide a link to their website so you can complain to them if you tell me what PCT they are in your next post.

Quote:


The so called watchdog is Ofcom, the telecoms and broadcasting regulator, or OfCoN as they are known around here.

They are the worst and most corrupt regulator in Britain stacked from stem to stern with people from the telecoms companies and who then often go back to work at the telecoms companies and they do nothing at all to stop or close down these scams.  Instead they say your doctor being able to move to 0844 etc is all in the interests of a competitive telecoms market.  That is in your doctor's interest to get the highest revenue share he can but not in your interest as a consumer to get the lowest call cost you can.

Never, never, never, ever call an 0844 phone number on a mobile or BT Payphone where they are charged at 20p to 40p per minute.  Always call them on your landline where the charge is 5p per minute but even then not included in unlimited call plans to 01/02 numbers where it would be 0p per minute were an ordinary 01 or 02 prefixed number used.

Nutsy wrote on Sep 16^th, 2008 at 11:06am:

Perhaps you could write to your local newspaper about this. They could investigate by ringing at sample times on the 0844 and geographical numbers to see if there is a difference as you suggest.

http://www.brooksidegrouppractice.co.uk/newsletters/summer08.pdf

Telephone System

A few patients have asked why we have a 0844 telephone number and we
wanted to explain the reason we don’t have a geographical telephone
number. In 2004 we needed to upgrade our telephone system as the current
technology was getting old and the number of calls we were receiving was
increasing. The best system we could find was one that used an 0844
number which was endorsed by the Government with charges the same as
BT Option 1 – 4.2p per minute. We are not funded by the Primary Care Trust to install a
phone system and the cost to us is high – about 10 times greater than our previous system.

In brief, we changed to a 0844 number for the following reasons:

 it provides the best technology possible to answer high numbers of calls, ensures
immediate access to an emergency line, records calls for patient protection and
directs patients to the right department across 3 sites;
 it had been agreed by the government as a suitable service with the 0844 lo-call
Number;
 the original decision was made on the basis that the charges were the same as BT
Option 1 for a local call;
 we have signed up for a 7 year contract - and we do believe the system is the best we
could possibly offer our patients.

The biggest telephone running expense to the surgery is the cost of
telephone consultations, where the GP rings the patient, often at length
and often to patients’ mobile phones. The cost of this is high especially to
some networks and to the G3 numbers many patients use (25p per min).
We believe this service, though costly to us, is of immense health benefit
and convenience for patients.

We have also made available a phone number for patients who need to contact the
surgery whilst abroad. Although we have no obligation to provide this service patients can
contact us from outside the UK if they need to on 0044 870 112 7587.

idb wrote on Feb 5^th, 2009 at 3:06am:


That's rubbish - what numbers (aside from 09 numbers) cost 25p from a landline?!

jgxenite wrote on Feb 5^th, 2009 at 9:13am:


Whether or not this particular figure is accurate, there is no doubt that any NHS practice incurs many expenses. The only relevant question is over whether these should be covered by patients as they access NHS treatment. For a NHS "free at the point of need" the only answer is a clear NO.

Re Hamilton and Brookside is there anything we can do about these? As someone whose wife is a Doctor and who wouldn't dream of spouting these lies this just makes me so angry.

a) You can't ask your provide to include them in their call package. None will.

b) The rates quoted are pre Vat and practically nobody calling their Doctor can claim back the Vat (even if Vat registered as it is usually not a business expense)

c) Use of the word Lo-call

d) Providing an 0870 for calling from abroad is unobtainable from some places and where not is usually treated as premium rate

Contact: Local press? Local PCT?