Interesting article in the Health Service Journal this week. I offer
this synopsis, without prejudice, for further discussion.
"Health minister Alan Milburn announced last month that initial
reaction to the helplines had been 'so positive' that similar schemes
would be set up in every region of the country. "NHS Direct is already
proving its worth for patients . . . It is a key component of the
Government's 10-year plan to modernise the NHS." . . .
The Journal reports that the Northumbria pilot has been taking 25
calls a day and that the Lancashire pilot has been taking 60 calls a
day. The Lancashire pilot has been funded for 3.75 whole-time
equivalent nurses, but funding does not stretch to the early hours,
"The phone gets answered if we've got time, unfortunately that's the
reality" said Jill Stringer, nurse manager at Chorley and South
Ribble Hospital. . .
Jeremy Dale, professor of primary care at Warwick University, remains
concerned about a hasty and potentially wasteful roll-out, before the
service has been fully evaluated. He has warned that pilots should be
evaluated against other out-of-hours schemes in order to justify the
DoH's anticipated investment of £50 million a year."
--
Dr Ian Trimble http://www.sherwood.demon.co.uk/
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|