§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many calls have been received by the NHS helpline in Scotland each month since its inception.
§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 1 February 1994]: Information on the total number of calls, both interactive and non-interactive, which have been made to the NHS helpline each month since it came into operation is as follows:
784W
Number 29 October—20 November 1992 759 21 November—18 December 1992 710 19 December 1992—15 January 1993 674
Number 16 January—12 February 1993 1,303 13 February—12 March 1993 1,140 13 March—9 April 1993 1,214 10 April—7 May 1993 834 8 May—–4 June 1993 975 5 June—2 July 1993 1,128 3 July—30 July 1993 1,236 31 July—27 August 1993 861 28 August—24 September 1993 801 25 September—22 October 1993 1,059 23 October—19 November 1993 765 20 November—17 December 1993 644 18 December 1993—14 January 1994 561 Total 14,664
§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost of setting up the NHS helpline in Scotland and the cost to date; what has been the total cost of administering the service to date; how many staff have been employed; and what is the salary of the head of the NHS helpline.
§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 1 February 1994]: The NHS helpline was set up in October 1992 at a cost of £72,401; and total expenditure to date on operational and publicity costs is £330,912. The service is operated on behalf of the NHS in Scotland management executive by Network Scotland on a contractual basis with the cost of administering the helpline met from within the contract price. Network Scotland employs a project supervisor and up to four part-time operators to work specifically on the NHS helpline. The salaries of Network Scotland employees are not known.