HC Deb 19 September 2003 vol 410 cc1326-8W
Chris Grayling

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the locations of NHS Direct sites. [127641]

Ms Rosie Winterton

The location and geographical coverage of the 22 NHS Direct sites are laid out in the table.

NHS Direct site Organisational model Geographical coverage
Thames Valley and Northamptonshire Hub—Thames Valley and Northamptonshire. No spoke as yet Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire
West Country Hub—Exeter. Spokes (4)—Truro, Plymouth, Taunton (Somerset), St Leonard's (Dorset) Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset
West London Single call centre—Middlesex Hillingdon, Brent and Harrow, Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow
West Yorkshire Single call centre—Wakefield Calderdale and Kirklees, Leeds Bradford, Wakefield and North Yorkshire

Notes:

1. Hub and Spoke—A spoke is a small call centre environment (approximately up to 10 seats) which relies on technology sited at a remotely connected site. The management team and technology is located at the main "Hub" site.

2. Planet and Satellites—A satellite is a small call centre environment (approximately up to 10 seats) which relies on technology sited at a remotely connected site. The management team and technology is located at the main "Planet" site.

3. Call Centre—A call centre is a structured environment specifically set up to manage incoming/outgoing calls from a single location.

Mr. Amess

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls NHS Direct has received in each year since 1998. [130372]

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 Accumulative 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 to 31 August 2004 2,173,005 18,884,911

Dr. Fox

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the most recent vacancy rates were for staff at each NHS Direct site. [131035]

Ms Rosie Winterton

Information collected centrally on the most recent vacancy rates for call handlers and nurses at each NHS Direct site is shown in the tables.

Funded establishment against staff in post for the period of August 2003 (whole time equivalent)
Nurses Funded establishment Staff in post Shortfall (+) Surplus (-)
Anglia 42 38.8 3.2
Avon 50 46.9 3.1
Beds and Herts 50 43.6 6.4
Birmingham, Black Country and Solihull 50 47.9 2.1
East Midlands 74 67.4 6.6
Essex 52 48.0 4
Manchester, Cheshire and Wirral 80 82.8 -2.8
Hampshire 55 54.5 0.5
KSS 72 62.2 9.8
Midlandshires 58 57.7 0.3
NC London 33 23.1 9.9
North East 60 55.7 4.3
NE London 25 22.4 2.6
NW Coast 70 69.3 0.7
SE London 37 26.4 10.6
SW London 31 23.9 7.1
South Yorkshire and South Humber 42 43.6 -1.6
Tees. East and North Yorkshire 36 33.5 2.5
Thames Valley 54 45.8 8.2
West Country 64.98 61.3 3.68
West London 41 40.0 1
West Yorkshire 60 54.2 5.8

Funded establishment against staff in post for the period of August 2003 (whole time equivalent)
Call Handlers Funded establishment Staff in post Shortfall (+) Surplus (-)
Anglia 15.22 15.22 0
Avon 33 30.41 2.59
Beds and Herts 24 25.17 -1.17
Birmingham. Black Country and Solihull 25 26.79 -1.79
East Midlands 40 32.72 7.28
Essex 27 24 3
Hampshire 20 14.6 5.4
KSS 30 25.94 4.06
Manchester, Cheshire and Wirral 40 37.88 2.12
Midlandshires 32 32.72 -0.72
NC London 16 14.94 1.06
North East 31 27.12 3.88
NE London 18 16.5 1.5
NW Coast 35 22.1 12.9
SE London 22 23.25 -1.25
SW London 15 12.3 2.7
South Yorkshire and South Humber 29 26.6 2.4
Tees East and North Yorkshire 17 16.05 0.95
Thames Valley 18 19.88 -1.88
West Country 30 27.55 2.45
West London 27 21.6 5.4
West Yorkshire 30 26.6 3.4

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