NHS Direct (Hansard, 10 December 2002)

§ Mr. Paterson
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the running costs of NHS Direct were in 2001–02. [86060]

§ Mr. Lammy
In 2001–02, the running costs for NHS Direct were £98.6 million.

§ Mr. Paterson
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) doctors, (b) administrators and (c) nurses are employed by NHS Direct. [86067]

§ Mr. Lammy
NHS Direct employ approximately 2,500 (whole time equivalent) members of staff nationally. Of these around 1,050 are nurses, 470 call handlers, and 210 health information advisers. The remaining staff consists of managers, trainers, nurse supervisors and administration staff. Each of the 22 sites for clinical governance purposes employs a medical director (doctor).

§ Mr. Paterson
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients spoke to a doctor within an hour of contacting NHS Direct, in the most recent period for which figures are available. [86068]

§ Mr. Lammy
The information requested is not collected centrally.

§ Mr. Paterson
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of callers to NHS Direct spoke to a qualified health professional in the most recent period for which figures are available. [86069]

§ Mr. Lammy
Calls made to NHS Direct involving clinical symptoms result in the caller speaking to a qualified health professional. The remaining calls are health information inquiries that are dealt with by health information advisers.