HC Deb 18 June 2004 vol 422 cc1129-30W
Mr. Burstow

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls have been made to NHS Direct in each month since November 2001. [178455]

Ms Rosie Winterton

The number of calls made to NHS Direct in each month since November 2001 are shown in the table.

Number of calls answered by NHS Direct since November 2001
Calls answered
November 2001 415,845
December 2001 513,741
January 2002 518,375
February 2002 459,305
March 2002 500,547
April 2002 471,551
May 2002 478,767
June 2002 485,061
July 2002 479,096
August 2002 485,296
September 2002 420,017
October 2002 488,856
November 2002 475,026
December 2002 570,227
January 2003 547,872
February 2003 509,293
March 2003 575,946
April 2003 579,994
May 2003 552,749
June 2003 523,997
July 2003 532,447
August 2003 520,148
September 2003 476,102
October 2003 511,835
November 2003 545,826
December 2003 570,349
January 2004 548,523
February 2004 506,112
March 2004 542,014
April 2004 544,879
May 2004 554,454
Source:
NHS Direct health intelligence unit.

Mr. Burstow

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the 10 most common reasons for calls to NHS Direct over the last year. [178479]

Ms Rosie Winterton

Information on the most common reasons for calling NHS Direct has only been collected nationally by the NHS Direct health intelligence unit since January 2004. The 10 most common reasons for calls to NHS Direct from January 2004 to March 2004 are shown in the table.

10 most common reasons for calls to NHS Direct, January 2004 to March 2004
Algorithm Percentage of overall
Abdominal Pain 4.4
Chest Pain 2.3
Headache 2.3
Toothache 2.2
Rash Toddler (Age 1–4 years) 2.1
Fever Toddler (Age 1–4 years) 1.9
Sore Throat 1.9
Ingestion Toxic 1.8
Diarrhoea 1.7
Vomiting 1.7
Source:
NHS Direct health intelligence unit.

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