Calls answered by NHS Direct in the last year were costed at just over £16 each, official figures from the information and advice service show.
In new figures presented to the NHS Direct board, the service identifies a total cost per call answered of £16.54.
The total cost was calculated by dividing NHS Direct’s complete expenditure, including publicity, web management and consultants, by the number of calls it answers.
According to the BMA, this is only slightly less than the cost of a visit to the GP, raising questions over the need for the telephone service.
A BMA spokesperson told E-Health Insider: “We estimate that it costs the NHS between £20 and £25 every time a patient sees a GP. Although the NHS Direct service is undoubtedly a key asset of the NHS, we do not see it as worth £16 a call when over a third of patients are subsequently referred to GPs or A&E.”
Last year, the BMA called for an inquiry into NHS Direct, claiming it is ‘putting a strain on the system’, with call handlers said to be referring too many calls to GPs or A&E departments.
The new figures from NHS Direct predict that the cost of a call will fall by the end of this financial year to £15.91, with the service set to take 6m calls annually by then.
An NHS Direct spokesperson said this would resemble a fall in the cost per call, which was over the £18 in 2002.
Taking into account NHS Direct’s other services – SMS, the internet and digital and satellite television – there would be less calls, making the cost of a call seem higher, he added.
A Department of Health spokesperson told EHI: “The cost of the call is irrelevant when you consider the great service the organisation is providing. NHS Direct will continue to work to ensure that only appropriate callers are referred but it is important that patient safety is not compromised.”
The figures come after NHS Direct’s chief executive, Matt Tee, announced the service was considering outbound calls to “people in deprived areas” to ensure they were in good health, as part of their bid to become a foundation trust.
Opposition parties said they were shocked at the figures, and would seek explanations to determine how the cost represents value for money.
Mike Penning, a shadow health minister, said he would be seeking a meeting with the head of NHS Direct to discuss the costs.
He said: “Frankly it is hugely disappointing that promises were made and yet we are still in the same position. Huge amounts of taxpayers money has been ploughed into NHS Direct and there is a real worry about whether it represents value for money.”
Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, added: “Broken Government pledges on the NHS are nothing new, so no one will be surprised at the cost of each call to NHS Direct. Ministers should ensure that each different service available to patients represents value for money.”
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