NHS Direct (Hansard, 14 March 2000)

§ Dr. Cable
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has he made of the extent of disruption to NHS Direct Services caused by the failure of computers in the week beginning 20 February; and what action is being taken to ensure complete reliability in the telecommunications infrastructure for NHS Direct. [113180]

§ Ms Stuart
On 20 February, British Telecom had a major fault with two of the three main BT routers for 0845, 0345, 0870, 0645, 0800 link-line numbers. This left one router to carry all traffic. This British Telecom problem, over which "NHS Direct" has no control, affected many services including banks, building societies, and insurance companies, public utility emergency numbers and the Samaritans and domestic violence helplines, among others within the voluntary sector. This was the first time that this problem has occurred. "NHS Direct" on that day handled about 1,000 calls less than the number of calls expected.
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In order to communicate this problem, "NHS Direct" immediately released a press notice urging callers who were unable to get a ringing tone after trying 0845 4647 to use alternative health services.
BT has apologised for the interruption to the service and has reassured the Department that it will not happen again.

§ Mr. Ruane
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the(a) constituencies, (b) health authorities and (c) counties that are (i) covered and (ii) not covered by NHS Direct; and what is his timetable is for extending coverage. [113203]

§ Ms Stuart
[holding answer 6 March 2000]: The White Paper "The New NHS; Modern, and Dependable" announced our commitment to NHS Direct. At present, NHS Direct covers 65 per cent. of the population. By the end of October this year, the whole of England will be covered. I have placed copies of the list of (a) constituencies, (b) health authorities and (c) counties that are (i) covered and (ii) not covered by NHS Direct in the Library.
NHS Direct on-line provides users with the facility to determine whether their postcode or telephone number is covered by NHS Direct.

§ Mr. Hammond
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies he has commissioned to establish how many users, as distinct from individual calls, there are of NHS Direct. [114496]

§ Ms Stuart
We have not commissioned any studies to establish how many users, as distinct from individual calls, there are of NHS Direct.

§ Mr. Hammond
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses are employed by NHS Direct; and how many are expected to be employed once the service has achieved national coverage. [114497]

§ Ms Stuart
NHS Direct currently accounts nationally for about 600 whole-time equivalent nurses. Following the national rollout later this year, we expect the number to increase to about 1,000 nurses, a small number against the overall size of the nursing workforce (330,000 whole-time equivalent in England as of 30 September 1998).
NHS Direct recruits nurses from a wide range of different backgrounds. Some are from a hospital background, others are from primary care or are working outside the National Health Service. NHS Direct also provides opportunities for disabled and work injured nurses. Many staff who work for NHS Direct do so on a part-time basis, allowing them to combine working for NHS Direct with other clinical duties.