Hi,

Many thanks for the suggestion of 01295720347 but when it is answered there is silence.

Mhairi

CJT-80 wrote on Feb 23^rd, 2011 at 8:06pm:

The contact page gives the details for Hook Norton Surgery:

Hook Norton Surgery
Bourne End Surgery
The Bourne
Hook Norton
OX15 5PB

Telephone: 01608 737302

I've just tried this telephone number and it is answered with a message which says it's Bloxham Surgery. This is the same response when calling the 0844 number.

There is a short period of silence before the ringing kicks in which suggests that could be diverted. It's worth bearing in mind that it may or may not be diverted to the same place as the 0844 number all the time.

Do let us know how you get on with this.

mhairi wrote on Feb 25^th, 2011 at 1:50pm:

Sadly this is the incredulous nonsense we hear alot. Contrary to what some seem to believe, we now have a system whereby there are multiple telephone providers which means that caller and receiver are often with different telcos. It is therefore beyond the receiver's provider's control what callers are charged.

Suffice to say that the receiver takes a subsidy of around 5 pence per minute on the 0844 call and that is by design of these numbers. Clearly this surgery lives in cloud cuckoo land.  

the department of health told GPs to stop using 0844 numbers and any if your doctor uses them you must contact your local primary care trust and complain
the doctors that say fetch your bill is wrong because when you have free call numbers on your line they only cover 01/02/03 so if the number was right then the call would be free
thanks pip
ps in may which mag 2011

As we have said many, many times on this site, no provider, land line or mobile, gives you free calls.

Inclusive maybe but they are never free.

sherbert wrote on Apr 29^th, 2011 at 4:02pm:

There are some contexts in which that distinction is important, and the point is fairly made - I do not disagree.

We may however be considering the cost of a call to a GP surgery on a 084, as against a 01/02/03, number for a caller who has the latter as inclusive with their selected package.

In this case it is perfectly correct to say that a call to a 01/02/03 number would be "FREE OF ANY CALL CHARGE", whereas a 084 call would not.

Access to NHS services is (or rather should be) "free at the point of need". In fact this only means that it is "FREE OF ANY CHARGE BY THE NHS SERVICE PROVIDER". You may still have to pay your bus fare or for petrol and parking for your car when visiting the hospital or surgery. Similarly, you may have to pay the rental for your telephone line and perhaps a standard call charge when contacting your GP by telephone.

What is unacceptable is to incur an additional charge, above what is "standard", to the benefit of the NHS provider. That is what happens when GPs adopt revenue sharing telephone numbers or when hospitals impose car parking charges other than what would be normal for the locality.


Please understand that I do not disagree with the general point about what is "free" in absolute terms. We must however consider specific cases with reference to what is relevant and just what it is that something is "free of". "Free ... of a call charge", "Free ... of a premium charge" etc. is not the same as "Free ... of any cost". In common use of language we do not always add the extra words, but leave them to be assumed by the context.

Martin, are you a Surgery User?

If so they invite you to provide feedback via their website: http://www.parkfieldmedicalcentre.co.uk/contactus/index.html

I would recommend doing so and advising them you are unable to call 0844 numbers do to their costs, and request an 01/02 number.

Let us know how you get on.

My surgery, Everglade Medical Practice, in London, NW9 are proposing to changeover to an 0844 number from the end of this month.

Their leaflet explains that the cost of 4.6pm is equivalent to a first class stamp for a 10 mintue call (irrelevant - who writes to their doctor for an appointment  !).

They also write that they will not be making a profit from these calls.   If it is break-even, then they may as well keep the old system.

The best one is that they say it is 'fully compliant with all NHS regulations'.    They obiviously haven't been made aware of the Secretary of State for the Department of Health who gave a Direction to NHS bodies in 2009, which said that these calls must be equivalent to a geographical number.   I have geographical numbers in my 'free' package, and if I extended it to 0845 calls, I would still have to pay for this number.

I am writing to the Practice Manager, and will also complain to the local press etc.

I am told by the receptionist that the old phone system will be taken out, but will try the old number after the relevant date - I expect there will be a recorded message.