National Health Service to review phone numbers to bring a better service to callers
The choices for NHS services should the Department of Health’s public consultation prohibit the use of 0844/0845 telephone numbers in 2009.
10 Reasons Why 03 Numbers are Being put forward by the Department of Health
The department of Health launched an England wide consultation on the 16th of December to ask if it should prevent the use of 0844/ 0845 numbers to access services provided by the NHS.
Increasing numbers of General Practices, pharmacies, Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and opticians use these 08 numbers as they offer improved call functions like caller queuing and options for patients to make sure they get through to the right department (e.g. press 1 for appointments, press 2 to speak to a matron etc.)
The consultation (which closes in March 2009) often talks about 03 telephone numbers as the best alternative, as they offer the same extra functions as 0844/0845 numbers, but crucially are priced at the same rate as normal landline numbers, even from mobiles.
This is specifically essential when 40% of all calls made in the United Kingdom last year were from mobiles (Ofcom 2008).
0300 numbers are entirely for the public sector and are already being used by many NHS businesses including Wiltshire Medical Services, South Staffordshire PCT and West Sussex PCT
Here are Ten facts why 03 numbers are being advocated by the Department of Health:
1. They meet the needs of the public as they cost the same to call as 01/02 numbers – even from a mobile.
2. Because 03 numbers are relatively new there are still a huge range of easy to remember 03 numbers available (they were launched in 2007).
3. The public confidence 0300 numbers as they are exclusively for public sector organisations.
4. Organisations can deal with enquirers more efficiently, gain valuable information about their specific 03 number and ensure all calls are received by the correct person, straight away.
5. It’s possible to record calls to 0300 numbers.
6. 0300 numbers can easily move with the organisation if it relocates.
7. Organisations can decide where they receive their calls, by rerouting their 03 number to any United Kingdom landline or a mobile phone simply via the web/phone.
8. You can set up 0300 numbers to show you the geographic positions of callers and hectic times in the day by providing statistics packages.
9. Callers can be queued, meaning that all important calls will be answered.
10. They can frequently be inexpensive to maintain if you seek out the provider with the most competitive offering in the market.
What the outcome will be from the public survey will be very interesting and for NHS organisations that depend on the features of their telephone numbers, then 03 numbers or 0800 numbers provide a viable alternative if they decide to rule out 0844/0845 numbers in the National Health Service.
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