University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust has ditched a recently introduced 0844 number following complaints that it could leave vulnerable patients out of pocket.
The trust introduced the 0844 number as a single contact for Glenfield, Leicester General and the Royal Infirmary hospitals, early in September.
It opted not to make revenue from the number; but patient groups still objected that it would not be free for callers using some popular landline packages or mobiles.
The trust has now decided to use an 0300 number instead. “The single number is a great idea, but with the 0844 prefix, it was patients who were picking up the cost,” said Zaffar Haq, chair of Leicester Patients’ Group.
“We were enraged that after spending so long trying to get GPs to stop using the 0844 number, the hospital suddenly began to use it,” he added.
There have been persistent complaints about hospitals and GPs using 084 numbers. Earlier this year, health secretary Alan Johnson appeared to criticise their use and the Department of Health launched an investigation.
However, in September, health minister Ben Bradshaw indicated the DH had no immediate plans to ban their use. In a letter to Rob Marris MP, who has been campaigning against the use of 084 numbers by the health service, he said the Department was analysing the information from its data collection exercise.
He added: “In time we will publish guidance about how primary care trusts can ensure that patients are able to access their GPs or other NHS organisations via the best possible service, without placing additional costs on them.”
In a statement on the trust’s website, Leicester’s director of IM&T, John Aird, said: “We wanted a single number for all three hospitals because that would enable us to answer the public’s calls more quickly.
“We chose 0844 as a single number prefix but declined the option of making money out of it. However, people have since pointed out that if you have a call package on your home phone or a pre-pay mobile, the 0844 number is not recognised and could end up costing more.
“We’ve listened, learnt and ditched 0844 and changed to an 0300 number, which call packages and pre-pay mobiles do recognise.”
Huq welcomed the move, but said: “I won’t be happy until GPs are forced to change their numbers too. 178,000 people in Leicester have a GP who uses the 0844 number. That’s over half of the population who are out of pocket as a result of needing to contact their GP.”
The number change will be introduced in several phases, according to a trust spokeswoman. The new number will cost the trust £14,000 a year, whereas the old number was free.