http://www.thisisdorset.net/display.var.1477393.0.surgeries_charge_more_for_call...

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SOME doctors' surgeries in Bournemouth and Poole have introduced higher call charges and even earn money from patients booking appointments, the Echo has learned.

It is a double whammy following April's news of a 160 per cent price hike in calls from bedside phones in hospitals in Bournemouth and Poole. Service provider Patientline is raising charges from 10 pence per minute to 26p.

And now patients calling their GPs are paying more.

At least eight practices have abandoned their local numbers and now use numbers with an 0844 code.

So rather than paying 3p peak time and 1p off peak, callers will now pay at flat fee of 5p per minute from anywhere in the UK. Practices also get a rebate of up to 1.5p per minute on incoming calls.

Canford Heath Group was the latest to introduce such a number last Friday, but senior partner Anthony Howe said it was a vital upgrade to handle the volume of callers at peak times.

He said: "Many practices have decided to put in a more modern system to answer criticism from patients that they can never get through to doctors' surgeries because lines are engaged, particularly first thing in the morning."

The new system directs patients to all services and departments and holds them in a queue when lines are engaged.

Dr Howe added: "Hopefully 5p per minute is not going to break the bank (not for the good doctor it won't), and if it means patients can get through without the issue of a litany of engaged tones, then I think that is an improvement."

[...]


Member [Patient Public Involvement forums] Barbara Plumbridge said she had heard of a patient who rang their surgery and was told they were 20th in the queue.

She said: "If GP surgeries are making a profit out of these phone numbers, then their patients should be told."

She added: "The PPI Forum is an independent, voluntary group and if we can gather more information about this issue, we will act upon it, so please call us with your comments on 0845 4500 418." (pot/kettle etc!!!!)

[...]
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idb wrote on Jun 19^th, 2007 at 2:09pm:

I Googled this 0845 number and it leads to a charity called Help & Care, based in Bournemouth. These people are either stupid or liars as they claim that 0845 is free!

Perhaps they pay their telephone provider and therefore think it is free......... What hope is there for fair telecoms when people are this naive?

And these people are in charge.

mikeinnc wrote on Jun 19^th, 2007 at 9:28pm:

Mark Sharman's e-mail appears to be mark.sharman@helpandcare.org.uk - mine didn't bounce when sent to that address.

UPDATE 12:54 - they actually read e-mails!

The offending 'FREE' part has been removed and now reads like THIS (which, while no longer alleging calls will be free, now includes incorrect information about the cost).

No attempt to justify the use of the 0845 number though - just some blurb about '.... we have been advised that local calls cost up to 3½p/minute'

This news story has been posted on the Help & Care website:
Quote:

Whilst I accept that it was a genuine mistake, the above text talks of the 0845 number costing the same from anywhere in the country. As well as being cheaper than 0845 for most people, that is the same for the proper 01202 number as distance is not a factor these days!

Only if anyone is daft enough to use BT and not one of the override Nos like 1899,18185,18866,etc for 01/02 calls weekdays, i.e a 1 minute call on BT daytime 01/02 will cost 9.25 pence, whereas a call to 01/02 using 1899 will cost 5p regardless of duration of call, obviously the above is via a BT line or CPS allowing override Nos.

The savvy perhaps, but not the millions of pensioners.

Clearly our public representatives have failed in their duty to promote the common good and have instead rendered the public hostage to unaccountable private interests. I took a look at the numbers being used by hospitals and doctors in the US and found that local calls are standard.

I just picked a hospital at random from US to see how much it costs to call patients there. I chose Alta Bates, a large hospital in Oakland, of California's East Bay. Incidentally, this is the same East Bay from which eBay originates. Note that 510 is the local area code for Berkeley and Oakland. From their website:

Quote:


All this information is posted on the main page of the site, that is to say, the very first page you get when you go to their web address. Perhaps Alta Bates simply recognize that these numbers are one of the main reasons that visitors come to their site and simply give them the information they are looking for. How strikingly different this is from the British experience.

It only remains to wonder how these organisations can survive the crushing expense of these phone networks. Do they suffer from endless engaged tones? Perhaps we should call them and ask. I seriously doubt it. On the other hand, since it only costs them a few pence a minute, maybe the hospitals just decided to swallow the cost and not gripe about it.

Now take a look at this list of names, addresses and phone numbers of doctors in Berkeley, California. It's 510 numbers all the way down, without exception.

http://local.sanfrancisco.com/Berkeley/Doctors.zq.html

This trivial exercise can be repeated by anyone for anywhere in the US. There are a few exceptions.  For example, Holy Cross Hospital in Chicago uses an 888 number. Is that a premium rate number? No--it's classed as "domestic toll-free".

The Times today carries this brief story : ---

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2218148.ece

"The Patients Association has meanwhile voiced concern that a retired Leeds couple were removed from a GP list of patients after complaining about the increased cost for booking appointments when their surgery switched to an “0844” number."

How many more patients have attempted to complain about their doctor's switch to 0844 and then been treated like this?   This is a prime example of the breakdown in the doctor/patient relationship which is being caused by 0844 nyumbers.

By using 0844 doctors are, in effect, charging patients a "booking fee" for trying to make an appontment in contravention of a fundamental principle of the NHS --- that the NHS will be free at the point of use.