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Health services using 03xx numbers (Read 64,362 times)
SilentCallsVictim
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Re: Health services using 03xx numbers
Reply #15 - Dec 30th, 2009 at 9:16am
 
loddon wrote on Dec 30th, 2009 at 8:21am:
It seems the penny has dropped at last, the Government does understand what 0300 is for and how it should be properly used.     So why don't they now make the 0345 4647 number available for NHS Direct?      And also give proper directions to the rest of the NHS about use of 0300 or at least banning premium rate numbers such as 0845 and 0844?

If you have become deluded into believing that a Government can think with one mind and find yourself needing to pose questions to which there is no simple answer, then you may be suffering from stress. Those who suffer from money problems as a result of having to pay a premium rate to call their GP are indeed said to be liable to be caused feelings of distress and helplessness. There have been concerns that thinking about the economy will cause people problems in the coming months. It may therefore be of some comfort to you to know that the health advisers who staff a specialist helpline, which is available at no greater cost than that of a local or national call, have been trained to do their job.

I have to confess that the apparent necessity to apply the word "trained" to any job title damages my mental wellbeing. I cannot get my head around the idea that personnel could be deployed to undertake a task without any attempt to verify or provide them with the minimum necessary competence. I am very worried whenever this is presented as having been an option that was not taken up.
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loddon
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Re: Health services using 03xx numbers
Reply #16 - Dec 30th, 2009 at 9:59am
 
SilentCallsVictim wrote on Dec 30th, 2009 at 9:16am:
If you have become deluded into believing that a Government can think with one mind and find yourself needing to pose questions to which there is no simple answer, then you may be suffering from stress. .


You must be deluded yourself SCV if you think that I think that "the Government can think with one mind".    I do believe that it should be possible for a clear policy to be established and for clear directions or Directives to be issued and implemented.   This Government seems to be incapable of that as we see in their hopelessly incompetent handling of the question of banning 084/7 numbers within the NHS.

I find nothing wrong with posing simple questions.    There may not be simple answers sometimes but that doesn't mean the questions should not be asked.    In this case I happen to think the answer to making use of 0345 4647 is simple, both technically and logically.   Unfortunately we are inflicted with obstinate, obstructive and obdurate government and administration.

I agree with your wittily presented points about  GP's numbers and use of trained operatives in advice centres.
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SilentCallsVictim
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Re: Health services using 03xx numbers
Reply #17 - Dec 30th, 2009 at 10:44am
 
loddon wrote on Dec 30th, 2009 at 9:59am:
You must be deluded yourself SCV
I admit to being mildy troubled, but it was not me who suggested that because one part of the NHS Direct NHS Trust understands the benefits of 03xx numbers, this understanding could be applied throughout that organisation or indeed extend to the Department of Health and the whole of the government.

The unanswerable question posed was "Why not ...". There is indeed no good reason why proper directions could not have been issued and why 0345 4647 could not be adopted in parallel with 0845 4647. These points have been presented to the government and we have not heard any meaningful answer.

The suggested answer is that this behaviour reflects the character of the government and the civil service. The suggested characteristics are however universally found in all administrations, so this does not help us address the particular issues.


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Re: Health services using 03xx numbers
Reply #18 - Dec 30th, 2009 at 10:59am
 
SilentCallsVictim wrote on Dec 30th, 2009 at 10:44am:
The suggested characteristics are however universally found in all administrations, so this does not help us address the particular issues.


Then why have various bodies that were misled in to using 0845 a number of years ago such as Surrey County Council or various Police forces or the DVLA or even Companies House (largely only providing business to business services) now switched to using 0345 but NHS Direct has not?

This suggest to me that such characteristics of obstinacy and unwillingness to change are not universally found in all organisations and that some organisations are prepared to admit to their error and apply the appropriate corrective action.

At the back of all this confusion about the cost of phone calls are major failures of leadership by Ofcom, the Cabinet's Contact Council and the OFT, all of whom have been consistently lacking in leadership or clarity on this important consumer issue for which they variously carry primary policy making responsibility.  With no clear lead from those bodies everything else that has gone on has been or more less utterly inevitable.
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SilentCallsVictim
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Re: Health services using 03xx numbers
Reply #19 - Dec 30th, 2009 at 6:47pm
 
NGMsGhost wrote on Dec 30th, 2009 at 10:59am:
Then why have various bodies that were misled in to using 0845 a number of years ago such as Surrey County Council or various Police forces or the DVLA or even Companies House (largely only providing business to business services) now switched to using 0345 but NHS Direct has not?

The question posed is about why the NHS Direct NHS Trust uses 03xx numbers for some services and 0845 for others.

NGMsGhost wrote on Dec 30th, 2009 at 10:59am:
... This suggest to me that such characteristics of obstinacy and unwillingness to change are not universally found in all organisations and that some organisations are prepared to admit to their error and apply the appropriate corrective action.

... This suggests to me that whilst these characteristics are found in all administrations, and that this should never be taken as proof that change is impossible and unattainable. That is why we campaign.

Surely, it cannot be seriously suggested that senior personnel in the DVLA underwent a character transformation that turned them from obstinate villains into repentant heroes around the time that revenue sharing was withdrawn from 0870 numbers!

NGMsGhost wrote on Dec 30th, 2009 at 10:59am:
At the back of all this confusion about the cost of phone calls are major failures of leadership by Ofcom, the Cabinet's Contact Council and the OFT, all of whom have been consistently lacking in leadership or clarity on this important consumer issue for which they variously carry primary policy making responsibility.  With no clear lead from those bodies everything else that has gone on has been or more less utterly inevitable.

I am not sure what role the OFT has in setting the policies of public bodies. Its role is surely limited to the matter of price declarations, which are only relevant in situations where use of premium rate numbers is otherwise acceptable.

In providing the opportunity to use 03xx numbers with the accompanying regulations and in issuing guidance about the revenue sharing characteristics of 084x numbers, Ofcom and the Contact Council have respectively each made positive contributions. They have however failed to show the type of leadership that would have been necessary to gain swift and universal adoption of 03xx numbers in place of 084x, wherever the benefits of a non-geographic number necessitate such a change. Each claims, with some justification, that the limits of their role, and their capacity to to lead and direct, preclude the type of action that we would hope for and have demanded. In both cases however, it is acknowledged that there is more that can, and will, be done.


As we look forward and wish each other a Happy New Year, let us hope for the modest steady progress that is being made not to be halted by a new government showing a renewed commitment to consumerism. The consumerist model delivers public services that offer value for money to those who pay for them. My idea of a public service, most notably the NHS, is of one that is funded exclusively by taxation. This means that in delivering services one may not show any regard whatsoever for how the taxes are raised and cannot levy charges for access to services.

Consumerism makes use of revenue sharing telephone numbers acceptable, and even desirable as they strengthen the financial relationship between the provider and the consumer. Differential costs help in creating a market that offers choice. Consumerism cannot exist where the taxpayer is totally remote from the beneficiary of a public service.

The present government seems to be totally committed to the consumerist model, seeking to address the issue of 084x numbers by reference to the costs incurred by consumers of particular NHS services and, as a matter of even greater concern, the interests of particular consumer groups with reference to NHS car parking charges. Despite this, some modest progress has been made in recent years, although calls from the official opposition to embed the true fundamental principles of the NHS in statute have been disregarded.

In the spirit of posing silly questions, I ask: can we hope for a new parliament that will produce a government more keen to transfer a cost burden from the public service user onto the deficit or the taxpayer?

I see so-called "efficiency" savings as simply a way of reducing public expenditure without making obvious cuts in services, so I want to address the real money involved. The costs incurred in foregoing the financial benefits of revenue share on 084x numbers are modest, as is the higher cost that some service users would face by calling 03xx numbers rather than 0845 or 0844. People have however got very excited about much more modest amounts when these have been proposed as possible savings in public expenditure.

Contributors to this forum have been rightly swift to point out the failings of the present governmen., Looking at the political landscape from a purely saynoto0870 perspective it is difficult to see what possible general election outcome would be most favourable for the objectives that we share.
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NGMsGhost
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Re: Health services using 03xx numbers
Reply #20 - Dec 30th, 2009 at 7:02pm
 
SilentCallsVictim wrote on Dec 30th, 2009 at 6:47pm:
Looking at the political landscape from a purely saynoto0870 perspective it is difficult to see what possible general election outcome would be most favourable for the objectives that we share.


What utter rubbish.

It is clear that from the point of view of the fulfilment of the ambitions espoused by anti 084/7 number campaigners that the Liberal Democrats have shown by far the greatest possible commitment at national level to addressing the 084/7 call costs issues.

However as governments do a very great many things and the Liberal Democrats have no realistic hope of election as a government in this election one cannot cast one's vote at the next election solely on the basis of the policies of the parties on the use or misuse of 084/7, 070 or 09 phone numbers.
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« Last Edit: Dec 30th, 2009 at 7:04pm by NGMsGhost »  

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Re: Health services using 03xx numbers
Reply #21 - Dec 30th, 2009 at 7:33pm
 
Source: Stoke-on-Trent PCT

http://www.stoke.nhs.uk/news/show/126

<<

New Numbers for Health Centres and Services in Stoke-on-Trent
[ 18 Dec 2009 ]

Eighteen health centres and health services across Stoke-on-Trent are changing over to new 0300 numbers which are only charged at a local rate.

NHS Stoke on Trent will implement the new numbers from the 1st January 2010 and will decommission the existing phone lines over the month.

[…]

>>


To read the article in full, follow the link which also has a list of the new numbers.
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« Last Edit: Dec 30th, 2009 at 7:38pm by Dave »  
 
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NGMsGhost
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Re: Health services using 03xx numbers
Reply #22 - Dec 30th, 2009 at 7:45pm
 
Dave wrote on Dec 30th, 2009 at 7:33pm:
Source: Stoke-on-Trent PCT Eighteen health centres and health services across Stoke-on-Trent are changing over to new 0300 numbers which are only charged at a local rate.


Meanwhile NHS Direct continues to scam tens of thousands of callers a week by pigheadedly sticking to its 0845 number. Angry Angry Angry
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SilentCallsVictim
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Re: Health services using 03xx numbers
Reply #23 - Dec 30th, 2009 at 8:03pm
 
NGMsGhost wrote on Dec 30th, 2009 at 7:02pm:
It is clear that from the point of view of the fulfilment of the ambitions espoused by anti 084/7 number campaigners that the Liberal Democrats have shown by far the greatest possible commitment at national level to addressing the 084/7 call costs issues.

However as governments do a very great many things and the Liberal Democrats have no realistic hope of election as a government in this election one cannot cast one's vote at the next election solely on the basis of the policies of the parties on the use or misuse of 084/7, 070 or 09 phone numbers.

It must be remembered that in our system a General Election is to elect a parliament, not a government. Very many members are returned with no prospect of sitting in government (notably from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but also many from England in the current parliament).

My reference to a general election "outcome" did not preclude the possibility that the resultant parliament could perhaps lead to a place in government for members of absolutely any party. The "Vince for Chancellor" movement could be influential in providing a share in power to the Lib Dems. I have to say that in my dealings with parliamentarians I have not detected any particularly strong commitment on this issue from Lib Dem members, although one may have expected this from their general bearing on policy matters. I have found support to be fairly evenly distributed amongst the back benches of the parties. I find the three major front bench teams to be generally inseparable on this issue.

The point about voting is, of course, well made. One hopes that voters will set their mark against the candidate they believe is most fit to represent the interests of their constituency. Party affiliation and the way in which they have discharged their duties previously (in the few cases where this will apply) will be high up on the list of issues to be considered.

I was not intending to solicit canvassing, but inviting speculation on how particular possible outcomes may favour our cause.
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Dave
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Re: Health services using 03xx numbers
Reply #24 - Dec 30th, 2009 at 11:12pm
 
Dave wrote on Dec 30th, 2009 at 7:33pm:
Source: Stoke-on-Trent PCT

http://www.stoke.nhs.uk/news/show/126

<<

New Numbers for Health Centres and Services in Stoke-on-Trent
[ 18 Dec 2009 ]

Eighteen health centres and health services across Stoke-on-Trent are changing over to new 0300 numbers which are only charged at a local rate.

NHS Stoke on Trent will implement the new numbers from the 1st January 2010 and will decommission the existing phone lines over the month.

[…]

>>


To read the article in full, follow the link which also has a list of the new numbers.

These 0300 numbers don't replace 0844 numbers, but geographical ones. They are for hospitals rather than contracted GPs, as shown in the main NHS website:
http://www.nhs.uk/servicedirectories/pages/Trust.aspx?id=5PJ&v=0&pid=5PJ

Of all the GPs providing services for Stoke-on-Trent PCT, there are two that use 0844 numbers:

1. Dr V K Maheepathi & Partners
Dunrobin Street Medical Centre, Dunrobin Street, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, ST3 4LL
Tel: 0844 576 9032

2. Longton Hall Surgery
186 Longton Hall Road, Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent, ST3 2EJ
Tel: 0844 815 1982
Fax: 0844 815 1983
Web: www.longton-hall-surgery.nhs.uk
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Dave
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Re: Health services using 03xx numbers
Reply #25 - Jan 13th, 2010 at 12:16am
 
Source: NHS Warwickshire

https://www.warwickshire.nhs.uk/NewsRoom/PressReleases/ViewPressRelease.aspx?PRI...

Quote:
Diarrhoea hotline opens to assist Warwickshire residents
Tuesday, January 05, 2010

NHS Warwickshire is opening a Diarrhoea hotline, 0300 130 3050, to help people with symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting cope at home.  The hotline, which will be operating 24 hours a day will give self-care health advice to Warwickshire adults concerned about sickness and diarrhoea.

[…]
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SilentCallsVictim
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Re: Health services using 03xx numbers
Reply #26 - Jan 18th, 2010 at 1:10pm
 
GP practice to open its doors to 6,000 Southampton patients - (Tuesday 12 January 2010)

Quote:
Patients ... should ring 0300 123 6066

Smiley


but ... Adelaide GP Surgery

Quote:
... after 8pm or on a bank holiday please call ... 0844 811 3060

Sad
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Re: Health services using 03xx numbers
Reply #27 - Jan 18th, 2010 at 2:10pm
 
SilentCallsVictim wrote on Jan 18th, 2010 at 1:10pm:
GP practice to open its doors to 6,000 Southampton patients - (Tuesday 12 January 2010)

Quote:
Patients ... should ring 0300 123 6066

Smiley


but ... Adelaide GP Surgery

Quote:
... after 8pm or on a bank holiday please call ... 0844 811 3060

Sad
So NEG's utopian vision of "competition" between numbering within the NHS is realized.
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« Last Edit: Jan 18th, 2010 at 3:09pm by idb »  

As from November 21, 2013, I no longer participate in the forum and am unable to receive private messages.
 
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Dave
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Re: Health services using 03xx numbers
Reply #28 - Mar 6th, 2010 at 6:21pm
 
The council and police in Durham have 0300 numbers and now the out of hours GP number is also a 0300 number. This came into existing on 1 October 2009:

http://www.countydurham.nhs.uk/patientinformation.html

Quote:
A new service for patients requiring urgent health care has been launched in County Durham and Darlington.  Patients can ring a special number – 0300 1110111 – and they will be passed to the service they need.  It is not for emergencies – if an adult or child has a serious illness or injury, people should still dial 999 and ask for an ambulance.  A leaflet has been produced with further information about the service and is available below.
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Re: Health services using 03xx numbers
Reply #29 - Aug 16th, 2010 at 12:35am
 
Source: Uxbridge Gazette

http://www.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/west-london-news/local-uxbridge-news/2010/08/06...

Quote:
New number for GP out of hours services launched

Aug 6 2010 By Dan Coombs

A NEW out of hours GP service has launched across Hillingdon.

If patients phone their own GP surgery out of hours and find it closed, they will be put straight through to the service, or given the number to call.

The number is 0300 130 3018 and the initiative has been launched by NHS Hillingdon in partnership with care providers Harmoni.



News release from the PCT:

http://www.hillingdon.nhs.uk/ViewNewsPage.html?NewsId=206
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