The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7246 p564
26 April 2003

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NHS Direct Online (www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk)
DoH: Developing NHS Direct (more)

Capacity of NHS Direct will more than double over the next three years

NHS Direct is to be significantly expanded over the next three years. The plan is outlined in a new strategy document "Developing NHS Direct" launched by Health Minister John Hutton on 15 April.

Under the new strategy, the service's telephone call-handling capacity will be more than doubled from six million calls this year to 16 million annually by 2006.

"NHS Direct has achieved so much in the five years since its launch that we are now determined to build on its success and expand the quantity and quality of NHS Direct services," said Mr Hutton. "This is why we are providing an 80 per cent increase in investment for NHS Direct over the next three years."

Funding for NHS Direct will be increased from £105m in 2003–04 to £131m in 2004–05 and £182m in 2005–06. There are also plans to make NHS Direct a distinct national organisation from 2004. It will be independent of the Department of Health, with the Department devolving funding to primary care trusts.

The new strategy document states that NHS Direct will become a single access point to National Health Service out-of-hours services. Through this approach, which includes working with other NHS providers, the out-of-hours burden on general practitioners should be reduced. A scheme in the West Country based on this idea resulted in a 34 per cent decrease in GPs' out-of-hours workload, the Department of Health says.

In addition, from 2005 NHS Direct will handle all low priority "999" calls to allow ambulances to deal with more urgent cases. A three-month pilot scheme in East Anglia saved an estimated 120 ambulance journeys.

Other developments include establishing a new national NHS Direct digital television service by 2004 and developing the NHS Direct internet service — NHS Direct Online. This will allow the public an option to save health information securely in "personal health organisers" at the site.