8 April 2008
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to prevent the use of non-geograpic numbers by General Medical Practioners and out of hours doctor services."
Details of Petition:
"General Medical Practioners are being persuaded, by telephone equipment suppliers and service providers, to change from the use of local 01 and 02 geographic numbers to a non-geographic 0844 number to book an appointment and 0870 numbers for calls from overseas countries. The patient has to remember a 11 or 12 digit number as againt a 5 or 6 digit local call number. These numbers are also revenue sharing numbers and generate an income for the doctors surgery and/or the telephone service provider and encourage the queing of calls to generate extra revenue. It is not possible to make a 0870 call from most overseas counties and therefore you or a hospital will not beable to contact your doctor for information. After hours doctor services are also using the 0870 number for incoming calls This practice penalises the poor, elderly and other persons who do not have access to a home phone and must rely on a public phone box and is additional un-neccessary burden and cost on illness."
Read the Government’s response
Responsibility for provision of local health services now rests with local NHS organisations as they have the specific knowledge and expertise that makes them best placed to plan, develop and improve services according to the needs of the local population. The provision of telephone services for patients and the public is therefore a matter for the local NHS.
However, the message from the Department of Health has made it very clear to NHS organisations that patients should not be expected to pay more than the equivalent of a local call to contact their GPs.
NHS organisations have a duty to ensure that they provide the best possible service to their local populations. We expect Primary Care Trusts and GPs to ensure locally that telephone systems do not place a financial burden on patients.