HC Deb 08 September 2003 vol 410 cc235-8W
Dr. Fox

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost has been of NHS Direct. [127379]

Ms Rosie Winterton

Since March 1998, NHS Direct sites have been funded from a top-sliced central budget. The total costs of the service since 1998–99 are given in the table.

Total cost (£ million)
1998–99 14
1999–2000 55
2000–01 90.1
2001–02 109.7
2002–03 124

Tim Loughton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost is per call to NHS Direct. [127556]

Ms Rosie Winterton

The average cost of a call to NHS Direct is currently about £18.00, although this is expected to fall further in the future as call volumes rise. The National Audit Office has found that half of callers are directed to forms of care they would not have chosen and that this tends to be care of a lower level and cost of intervention. More than half of NHS Direct costs are saved in this way.

Tim Loughton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many qualified nurses work for NHS Direct, broken down by grade. [127557]

Ms Rosie Winterton

There are approximately 1,100 whole-time equivalent nurses working for NHS Direct. Specific information about NHS Direct nurses broken down by grade is not collected centrally.

Tim Loughton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls were made to NHS Direct in each year since it was set up. [127568]

Ms Rosie Winterton

The table shows how many calls have been made to NHS Direct since its launch in March 1998.

Financial year Total calls handled Cumunative total calls
1998–99 110,000 110,000
1999–2000 1,650,000 1,760,000
2000–01 3,420,000 5,180,000
2001–02 5,213,062 10,393,062
2002–03 6,318,844 16,711,906
2003-July 2004 1,653,344 18,365,250

Tim Loughton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many different callers have used NHS Direct in each year since it was set up. [127569]

Ms Rosie Winterton

NHS Direct has handled over 18 million calls since the service was launched in March 1998, and NHS Direct Online has had over 8 million visitors. Specific information is not available on how many different callers have used NHS Direct each year since the service was set up.

Chris Grayling

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) nurses and (b) managers are employed by NHS Direct. [127637]

Ms Rosie Winterton

Currently all NHS Direct members of staff are employed by their host organisation trust. NHS Direct employs approximately 1,100 whole-time equivalent nurses across the 22 NHS Direct sites. Specific information about the number of managers employed by NHS Direct is not collected centrally.

Chris Grayling

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budgeted cost of NHS Direct in financial year 2003–04 is. [127638]

Ms Rosie Winterton

The total budgeted cost for the NHS Direct telephone service, NHS Direct Online, and other related services for the financial year 2003–04 is £124 million.

Chris Grayling

To ask the Secretary of State for Health from how many sites NHS Direct operates; and how many staff are employed at each site. [127639]

Ms Rosie Winterton

Specific information on how many staff are employed at each of the 22 NHS Direct sites is not collected centrally. The following table outlines the number of nurses and call handlers based at each site.

Staff in post FTE
Sites Nurses Call

handlers

 Total

FTE
1. Anglia 38.63 15.22 53.85
2. Avon 47.53 29.43 76.96
3. Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 47.80 23.17 70.97
4. East Midlands 70.80 36.21 107.01
5. Essex 50.03 24.95 74.98
6. Hampshire 56.31 15.60 71.91
7. Kent, Surrey and Sussex 64.83 28.70 93.53
8. Manchester 87.35 41.40 128.75
9. Midlandshires 55.26 33.72 88.98
10. North and Central London 22.68 12.94 35.62
11. North East 56.76 28.00 84.76
12. North East London 23.20 16.70 39.90
13. North West Coast 76.51 18.48 94.99
14. South East London 36.58 23.39 59.97
15. South West London 25.60 12.60 38.20
16. South Yorkshire 39.63 26.80 66.43
17. TENYAS 34.70 13.10 47.80
18. Thames Valley 46.50 15.20 61.70
19. West County 59.27 29.80 89.07
20. West London 38.70 22.60 61.30
21. West Midlands 50.47 24.96 75.43
22. West Yorkshire 52.93 24.45 77.38
Total 1,082.07 517.42 1,599.49

Chris Grayling

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of calls to NHS Direct result in(a) no further action being taken by the caller, (b) the caller being advised to contact their GP, (c) the caller being advised to attend an accident and emergency department and (d) an ambulance being summoned to the caller's location. [127642]

Ms Rosie Winterton

45 per cent. of calls to NHS Direct result in no onward referral to another service, 35 per cent. of callers are advised to contact their general practitioner, 7 per cent. of callers are advised to attend an accident and emergency department, and 3 per cent. of callers required an ambulance dispatching to the caller's location.

Source:

NHS direct data April 2003-June 2003.

Chris Grayling

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are employed by NHS Direct, broken down by(a) grade and (b) salary. [127636]

Ms Rosie Winterton

Currently, all NHS Direct members of staff are employed by their host organisation trust. Specific information about the number of people employed by NHS Direct, broken down by grade and salary is not collected centrally. Approximately 3,000 members of staff are employed by NHS Direct.