§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls were received by NHS Direct in914W the Isle of Wight and Hampshire in each month since the facility opened; and what categories of information he collects about the types of (a) call received and (b) response given. [185804]
§ Ms Rosie Winterton[holding answer 22 July 2004]: The available information concerning calls received by the NHS Direct call centre serving Hampshire and the Isle of Wight since November 2001 is shown in the table.
915W
Month and year Hampshire and the Isle of Wight—calls answered 2001 November 19,025 December 23,691 2002 January 24,876 February 19,804 March 20,196 April 20,153 May 21,008 June 20,996 July 21,775
Month and year Hampshire and the Isle of Wight—calls answered August 22,497 September 19,742 October 21,184 November 21,156 December 25,090 2003 January 24,542 February 18,723 March 25,342 April 25,425 May 23,553 June 23,391 July 26,776 August 24,054 September 21,564 October 23,592 November 25,697 December 25,364 2004 January 25,192 February 21,994 March 24,809 April 24,514 May 24,844 June 22,732 Total 751,187
§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health who took the decision to locate the NHS Direct call centre which serves the Isle of Wight and Hampshire in Southampton; when the decision was taken; when the facility opened; how many full-time equivalent staff were employed there in each year since opening; what criteria were used in determining its location; what the cost of(a) the premises and (b) staffing is in the current financial year; whether the staff are directly employed by the national health service; how many are on each grade; what the cost was of furnishing and equipping the premises; and what other premises were considered. [185808]
§ Ms Rosie Winterton[holding answer 22 July 2004]: Due to an increase in call volumes and the success of the pilot NHS Direct service for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, the existing premises at Highcroft in Winchester, which had been the location of the initial call centre since March 1999, were considered to be unsuitable for the growth of the service. In February 2001, the NHS Direct management team within the Department, in consultation with external estates advisers and NHS Estates, decided to locate a new call centre at Berrywood Business Village, Hedge End. The selection criteria used for deciding the location of the new call centre included access by public and private tram port and security for staff attending and leaving work The new call centre was opened in September 2001. Other locations considered were Silver Hill in Winchester, Link 414 in Chandlers Ford, Easton Lane in Winchester and Belbins Business Park in Romsey
The cost of furnishing and equipping the premises was £1.6 million. Current accommodation costs and capital charges are £750,000 per year.
There are currently 136 whole time equivalent (wte) staff employed by the NHS Direct special health authority at the call centre. 58 of the staff are nurses (G grade), 47 are health information advisers (administrative and clerical 5) and the rest are managers or support staff Staffing costs for the 916W current financial year are £4.53 million. Staff numbers in previous years were 125 (wte) in 2001–02, 140 (wte) in 2002–03 and 140 (wte) in 2003–04.