Patients are now able to ring hundreds of GP practices for free, after BT scrapped the charges to call 0845 numbers.

Only the 300 practices \(almost exclusively in the West Midlands and Yorkshire) are affected. Only 1.4 million \(10%) of the BT customers with call plans will be able to call for free during normal surgery hours. How many patients are there actually who will be gaining further from a call plan they have had to pay extra for anyway? There can be little prospect of this move turning into any sort of realistic solution to the problem of surgeries being subsidised by patients through use of revenue sharing numbers. "Should practices stop using 0844 numbers?" !! - Should the NHS be 'free at the point of need' or should providers receive subsidy from patients as they access services?

Simply another example of superb marketing spin by BT. The calls are not free, they are in "paid for" call bundles. To benefit you will need to pay, every month, and becasue most calls are made during peak daytime hours you need a bundle that allows "free" daytime calling and guess what? That's BT's most expensive home tariff! Also note that business callers do not benefit and 0844 are not included. Also if you are in a queue for an OoH GP service and your call is a long one then the call will cost you money. If you keep calling you can even be banned from claiming any more "free" 08 calls ever again \( the small printy covers about 8 pages!). The real answer remains he scrapping of 08xx yet not even government depts do not all want to do that because they make money!

Practices should not be charging for access and therefore should not be using these numbers. If the government wanted to do something about it, it could be made part of QOF \(organisational indicators) quite easily...

GP surgeries should boycott BT completely, there are many providers out there who will be willing to cash in on the millions of patinets and ordinary people who make calls every minute to GP surgeries. Those at work , not at home would have to use their mobile phones whcih have free tariffs on 01,02 numbers but have to be charges exorbitantly for using 08**** numbers, coupled with the points that Andrew Holford made earlier on

is it fair that some practices charge for a service while others pay their own costs for the phones etc