The government is considering banning GPs and other NHS services in England from using 084 numbers.
The cost of calling such numbers from a landline phone is slightly more than the cost of a local call and considerably more if called from a mobile phone.
With increasing numbers of people on low incomes relying on mobiles rather than landlines, the government has launched a consultation on whether NHS services should no longer be called to use 084 numbers.
Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said: "We are concerned that some people are paying above the odds to contact the NHS. For people on low incomes who need to contact their local doctor or hospital regularly, those costs can soon mount up.
"We know that some people value the additional service that 084 numbers can offer, but others object to being charged more than the cost of a local call to access NHS services. We receive regular complaints from members of the public and parliamentarians about this."
An 084 number is a non-geographical number and allows the service provider to generate revenue from those making the calls to offset the cost of equipment to the organisation.
The functions provided by these numbers allow patients to wait in a call queue rather than having to repeatedly hang up and redial until a line becomes free, choose from a menu of options and be automatically directed to the most appropriate place without having to dial another number and book appointments or order repeat prescriptions via an automated system.
The Department of Health banned the use of premium (0870, 0871 or 09) and national charge rates to call local NHS healthcare services in England in April 2005. However, the ban did not extend to 084 numbers, as at the time they were not considered "premium" rate.
However in December 2006, the Department of Health issued a letter to all primary care trust chief executives asking them to consider what actions they needed to take locally to ensure that patients did not pay more than they would if they called a local geographical telephone number. It also advised that Ofcom was issuing a new countywide (03) number range, which allows the functionality of an 084 number with the receiver rather than the initiator of the call bearing the extra cost.
Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the BMA’s GP committee, said: "Where 084 numbers are used by the NHS there is good evidence that patient satisfaction has improved, with better and quicker access to services because of the additional functions within the telephone system.
"We believe the best way forward is for the government to work with the telephone industry to make sure the companies that supply these systems move to local-rate call arrangements with NHS organisations. After all it was the government that encouraged many GPs to move to 084 numbers in the first place to help meet their access targets, and many surgeries will now be tied into long-term contracts."
The consultation closes on 31 March 2009.
Consultation on 084 numbers
