§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the distinction between an interactive and non-interactive phone call made to the NHS helpline; how many calls were made to it in each month since 25 October 1994; and what were the costs of administering and operating the helpline since his parliamentary answer of 26 October 1994,Official Report, column 727
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonInteractive calls are those which are answered by the NHS helpline and information is provided by the adviser about the NHS in Scotland. Non-interactive calls are those which are hoax calls; those which are from people who remain silent when put through to the adviser; or those who have dialled the wrong number.
Expenditure on administering and operating the NHS helpline between 25 October and 16 January totals £61,987.50. This includes additional resources totalling £16,000 in order to extend the hours of operation of the helpline and the number of telephone lines available to meet public demand for information during the measles-rubella immunisation campaign. The number of calls, both interactive and non-interactive, each month since 25 October 1994 is as follows:
Date Number 26 October-18 November 5,066 19 November-16 December 2,431 17 December-12 January 1,080 Total 8,577