NHS Direct is set to more than double in size, handling 16 million calls by 2006. The service is also due to launch a personal health organiser on its Internet service, NHS Direct Online, to enable members of the public to store key health information.
Announcing the plans, health minister, John Hutton, said, “NHS Direct is there for people when they need it. It is helping to save lives in the most serious situations as well as reassuring people with more minor conditions. It is a modern day service designed around the way people live their lives today.”
The Department of Health (DH) said the personal organiser functionality would allow users to store key health information, such as blood group, medication and allergies in a secure environment on the web. It could also act as a ‘mailbox’ for health news of interest to the user and for responses to health information requests submitted to NHS Direct Online’s enquiry service.
A spokesman added, “Users could access their personal health details form anywhere with internet access and would have the option to share access with a health professional, relative or carer if they wished. The service will be available by the end of 2003. In future, this facility could act as a gateway through which patients and citizens could access their NHS health records when they become available electronically.”
Other plans for NHS Direct include:
• Provision of a single access point to NHS out-of-hours (OOH) services. The DH says, when used in the West Country, this approach resulted in a 34% decrease in GPs’ OOH workload;
• Handling of all low-priority 999 ambulance calls to free up the service for truly urgent cases. Successful pilots in East Anglia saved 120 journeys by using this approach;
• Establish NHS Direct as a a distinct national organisation with funds devolved to the NHS primary care trusts from 2004.
NHS Direct currently handles half a million calls a month and the DH claims that, with NHS Direct Online, it is the most successful e-healthcare provider in the world. Funding for the service is due to increase from £105m in 2003/4 to £131m in 2004/5 and £181.5m in 2005/6.
The enhanced role for NHS Direct was condemned as a “gimmick” by Conservative health spokesman, Chris Grayling.
He said, “It is far from clear that NHS Direct is actually helping to ease the burden on GPs and emergency services. Most GPs are grappling with an increasing workload as a result of government bureaucracy. They are seeing little benefit from such government initiatives.”