§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 4 March 2003, ref 99682, on the international nurses advice line, if he will break down the calls by the type of caller's query or problem; in how many cases caller's information has been passed to his Department at the caller's request; where callers heard about the advice line; how many repeat callers there were to the line; what the outcome was of problem resolution; and whether calls are recorded. [102562]
§ Mr. HuttonThe types of queries and problems made by callers to the international nurses advice line are not recorded. Issues that cannot be resolved by the call operators are directed to the Department of Health. To date 15 cases have been forwarded to the Department of Health for further assistance and were dealt with either by direct contact with the caller or by putting the caller in contact with the appropriate nursing association. 459W Callers, when asked by operators, had heard of the advice line through various media and these included leaflets, posters and press articles, and through word of mouth.
Data indicate that there have been three repeat callers to the advice line since its operation. The calls are not recorded but are monitored.