HC Deb 05 July 1999 vol 334 cc394-5W
Mr. Chope

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the planned cost of NHS Direct in the current year. [89060]

Mr. Denham

[holding answer 29 June 1999]: £54 million has been allocated in 1999–2000 to NHS Direct.

Mr. Chope

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls have been made to the NHS Direct phone line to date; and what was the average cost per call. [89057]

Mr. Denham

[holding answer 29 June 1999]: Over 250,000 calls have been made to the NHS Direct phone line since its launch in March 1998. While call volumes are building up rapidly it is not possible to provide a realistic estimate of the average cost per call.

Mr. Chope

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change has been recorded in the number of visits to general practitioners' surgeries and accident and emergency units in those areas where the first three pilots of NHS Direct were established. [89054]

Mr. Denham

[holding answer 29 June 1999]: Sheffield University's Medical Care Research Unit has been commissioned to carry out an evaluation of the first wave pilots of NHS Direct. Data, in their first interim report published in March 1999, on the impact of NHS Direct on other services covered only the first 5 months of operation of NHS Direct and the researchers concluded that it would have been surprising to have seen any measurable impact at such an early stage. Monitoring of this data is continuing and a further report will be published later in the year.