§ Dr. Evan HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of undisputed invoices were paid by his Department within 30 days or the agreed contracted terms otherwise specified in(a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c) 1999–2000, (d) 2000–01 and (e) 2001–02. [45725]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 25 March 2002]: The number and proportion of bills paid within 30 days by the Department were as follows.
an estimate for the cash outturn for 2001–02 for comparative ease. The actual outturns have not been finalised yet.
The costs include the full running costs of all NHS Direct activity, all set-up costs for establishing the call centre environment, developing and setting up new 1031W projects, the development and maintenance of the national clinical decision support system, and costs incurred centrally.
£ million 2000/01 90.1 2001–021 110.9 1Estimate
§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints have been received from callers to NHS Direct about the service they received. [46716]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 10 April 2002]: In the Financial Year 2000–01, 148 written complaints were received about NHS Direct in England. This equates to one complaint in over 20,000 calls made to NHS Direct. Details of all written complaints can be found on the Department website: www.doh.gov.uk/nhscomplaints.
National surveys conducted between December 1998 and January 2001 have consistently shown caller satisfaction levels between 90 and 97 per cent. This compares well with performance in private sector call centres and with similar services within the National Health Service despite the particularly demanding nature of NHS Direct's work.
§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls NHS Direct received between 24 December 2001 and 3 January. [46701]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 10 April 2002]: Between 24 December 2001 and 3 January 2002, NHS Direct handled 205,000 calls, 20 per cent. more calls than the same period in 2000–01.
§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls NHS Direct received in each of the last two years for which figures are available. [46699]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 10 April 2002]: Between 2000–01 and 2001–02, calls handled by NHS Direct increased by over 50 per cent. In the 2000–01 financial year, NHS Direct handled around 3,400,000 calls. In 2001–02, NHS Direct handled around 5,270,000 calls.
§ Dr. Evan HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS Direct nurses came from(a) NHS hospitals and (b) accident and emergency departments. [43551]
§ Mr. HuttonSpecific information, such as the previous employment of NHS Direct nurses, is not collected centrally.