NHS.Patient Web Page
Recent media coverage of NHS GPs and hospitals using revenue sharing 084x telephone numbers
Last updated - Wednesday, 22 July 2009
	Item	Publication	Byline
2009
Jul 9	Dial 111 for urgent medical care under consideration	Daily Telegraph	Rebecca Smith
Jul 9	Dial 111 if you're not quite ill enough to call 999 and don't mind paying	Daily Mail	Sean Poulter
Jun 15	Health trust helps patients save money with 084 campaign	Birmingham Mail	Alison Dayani
Jun 10	DH delays 084 decision after 'huge response'	Pulse	Steve Nowottny
Apr 22	£5 phone bill to make doctor's appointment	Fenland Citizen	Sarah Cliss
Apr 6	Petition urges ban of 08 numbers in NHS	Healthcare Republic	Jonn Elledge
Mar 11	Good riddance to 084 surgery phone lines	Pulse	correspondent
Feb 27	Costly calls to doctors	Islington Tribune	correspondent
Feb 27	Surgeries’ call costs criticised	Newark Advertiser	Dominic Howell
Feb 24	BMA: GPs must be allowed to use 084 numbers (with link to source)	Pulse	Steve Nowottny
Feb 23	GPC says practices must be exempt from 084 ban	Healthcare Republic	Neil Durham
Feb 23	BMA says 084 must run its course	E-Health Insider	Fiona Barr
Feb 21	Counting the cost of calling	Northumberland Gazette	Helen Woods
Feb 17	One phone number for all city hospitals	Leicester Mercury
Feb 13	Calls to NHS Direct cost patients £1m	Healthcare Republic	Jonn Elledge
Feb 10	Kelvedon: Council says 'have your say on 084'	Braintree and Witham Times	Ryan McCarthy
Feb 10	Campaign to say ‘no to 084’	Colchester Evening Gazette
Jan 26	Pharmacists back ban on practices' 084 numbers	Healthcare Republic	Neil Durham
Jan 12	BT scraps charges for practices' 0845 numbers	Healthcare Republic	Jonn Elledge
Jan 12	BT drops practices 0845 phone number charges	OnMedica
Jan 11	NHS Health Centres 08 numbers	BBC South East Today
Jan 9	Calls to doctors made free as BT scrap 0870 and 0845 charges	Daily Telegraph	Urmee Khan
Jan 9	BT scraps charges on 0870 and 0845 numbers for calls to GPs	Daily Mail	Sean Poulter
Jan 9	NHS phone charge fees to be scrapped	Yorkshire Evening Post	Katie Baldwin
Jan 9	BT call charges cut may help GPs	Pulse
Jan 9	Revenue sharing for the NHS and public services	BBC Radio 5Live
Jan 9	Revenue sharing for the NHS and public services	BBC Radio WM
Jan 6	NHS Direct's 68 revenue sharing numbers	E-Health Insider	Fiona Barr
Jan 6	Fury over NHS Direct call charges	Daily Mirror	Bob Roberts
Jan 6	The NHS should ditch money-making phone lines	Daily Mirror	Voice of the Mirror
2008
Dec 27	MP warns surgeries over phone lines	Harlow Herald
Dec 24	Health care's on line for change	Gloucestershire Echo
Dec 24	Two Southport surgeries in row over costly phone numbers	Southport Visitor	John Siddle
Dec 19	GP surgeries face ban on 084 numbers	uSwitch
Dec 18	Teenager's bid to block 08 numbers	Kentish Gazette	Adam Williams
Dec 18	GP call costs need to end	Leicester Mercury	editorial
Dec 18	Use of 084 numbers in the NHS	SourceUK.net
Dec 17	Doctors banned from charging patients to ring surgeries	Daily Mail	Daniel Martin
Dec 17	GPs' surgeries could be banned from using expensive 084 numbers	Daily Telegraph	Kate Devlin
Dec 17	Government may ban practices from using 084 numbers	Healthcare Republic	Jonn Elledge
Dec 17	Costly calls to doctors could be banned	Norwich Evening News	Sarah Hall
Dec 17	Doctors to cut cost of phone calls	Whitstable Times
Dec 17	Chance to have a say on surgery 084 lines	Derby Evening Telegraph
Dec 17	Ministers Considering Ban on Expensive NHS Phone Numbers	money.co.uk	Jayne Davison
Dec 16	Ban on 084 numbers at GP surgeries?	Hull / East Riding Daily Mail
Dec 16	Have Your Say On NHS 084 Numbers	Island Pulse (Isle of Wight)	Amanda Johnson
Dec 16	GP surgeries could be forced to ditch 084 numbers	Pulse	Steve Nowottny
Dec 16	Official consultation on 084 numbers	E-Health Insider	Fiona Barr
Dec 16	GP surgeries may be barred from using 084 numbers	OnMedica
Dec 16	Consultation on expensive NHS phone numbers	Health Service Journal	Emma Dent
Dec 16	Government review of use of expensive phone numbers in NHS	Nursing Times	Nicola Davison
Dec 16	Government consults on NHS use of 084 numbers	Netdoctor
Dec 16	GP practices could be stopped from using 084 numbers	Management in Practice
Dec 16	Doctors' phone line use reviewed	BBC News Website	Jane Dreaper
Dec 16	Banning 084 numbers in the NHS	BBC Breakfast
Dec 16	Phone line use by GPs reviewed	BBC Radio 4 - Today
Dec 16	NHS GPs using 084 numbers	BBC TV News	Jane Dreaper
Dec 16	Cost of calling GPs	BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine Show
Oct 29	(NHS Trusts using revenue sharing numbers)	E Health Insider	Derek Hodgson (Personal view)
Oct 28	Rape victims have to pay when calling for help	Daily Telegraph
Oct 28	Rape victims forced to pay for help call	Daily Mirror	Bob Roberts
Oct 1	Trust ditches 0844 number	E Health Insider	Simona Stankovska
Sep 27	Hospitals drop plan to use higher-rate phone lines	Leicester Mercury
Sep 18	Please think again on costs of hospital calls	Leicester Mercury	editorial
	Anger at hospitals' 0844 number
Sep 13	Calling hospital still costs dear	Evening Gazette	Marie Levy
Sep 9	DH backs away from 084 telephone ban	E Health Insider	Fiona Barr
Aug 13	Surgery is now ready to open	Bradford Telegraph and Argus	Claire Lomax
Aug 5	Hospitals' 084 numbers makes trust £80,000	E Health Insider
Aug 1	Hospitals made £80,000 on calls	Wakefield Express	Don Mort
Jul 29	NHS Direct says it has no 0845 plans	E Health Insider	Fiona Barr
Jul 14	Hart to look at GP phone rates cost	South Wales Echo	Gavin O'Connor
Jul 14	Patients paying extra for GP phone calls	Daily Post (North Wales)	Deborah James
Jul 13	Number's up for GPs using costly codes	Bedfordshire on Sunday
Jul 13	Patients ripped off by GP phone charges	Wales on Sunday	Gavin O'Connor
Jul 10	Health Minister Urges BMA not to Mislead Patients	Loughborough News
Jul 2	Phone number scrapped after calls from patients	Daventry Express
Jun 26	Doctors' surgeries 'ripping off' patients with premium rate call lines	Bedford Today	Paul Fisher
Jun 19	Phone outrage - pensioners complain about hidden cost of health care	The Comet (Hertfordshire)
Jun 18	Protest over health centre phone changes	Biggleswade Chronicle
Jun 3	DH 'highly unlikely' to ban 084 numbers	E Health Insider	Fiona Barr
May 30	Ban on surgery 0844 numbers 'highly unlikely'	Pulse	Steve Nowottny
May 29	Pull plug on rip-off numbers, say phone activists	Yorkshire Post	Mike Waites
			Jonathan Reed
May 29	Firms cashing in with costly helpline calls	Scotsman	comment by "Joe"
May 21	Hospital made £15,000 from patients	Evening Gazette	Marie Levy
May 20	Hospital trust admits to telephone money earner	Evening Gazette
May 16	Hospitals make money on patient phone calls	The Times	David Rose
May 15	No call discounts for patients	Harlow Herald
May 9	Fury as GP surgeries profit from phone calls	Express and Star (West Midlands)
May 7	Anger over 0844 surgery numbers	Harlow Herald
Apr 28	Surgery denies premium rate claims	St Albans & Harpenden Review	Alexandra Barham
Apr 25	Sickening price of call to GP	Birmingham Mail	Alison Dayani
Apr 23	Call charges are not fair	Daventry Express	correspondent
Apr 16	GP: I’m not doing a number on patients	East Kilbride News	David Wynn
Apr 10	Time really is money in the NHS	Birmingham Mail	Roger Clarke
Apr 9	Home flooded with calls in phone number mix-up	Northampton Chronicle & Echo
Apr 9	Patient left with £127 phone bill	Daily Mail
Apr 8	Phone line warning to surgeries	Nottingham Evening Post	Clare Boyd
Mar 28	Concern over cost of calling surgery	Northampton Chronicle & Echo
Mar 26	Concern over GP phoneline costs	Daventry Express
Mar 23	Doctors' surgeries flouting rules by charging patients to ring them	Leamington Courier	Sundari Sankar
Mar 21	Kelvedon: Anger over surgery's telephone number	The Gazette (Colchester)	Ryan McCarthy
Mar 18	Rethink on Gaywood GP 'phone charges?	Lynn News	Daisy Wallage
Mar 17	GPs urged to end 084 phone system	Spalding Today
Mar 13	Pressure on GPs’ phone charging	The Times
Mar 12	Charging is mean practice	Daventry Express	John Birch (letter)
	Medical changes
Mar 12	Patients' 20p a minute to ring GP	Evening Courier - Halifax and Calderdale	Joe Shute
	Is this the answer for GP calls?		editorial
Mar 12	Surgery under fire over new phone line	Belper News
Mar 11	Johnson steps up pressure on 0844 numbers	E Health Insider	Fiona Barr
Mar 9	40p a minute to phone your doctor	thisismoney.co.uk	James Tozer
Mar 8	Patients charged up to 40p a minute to call family doctors	Daily Mail	James Tozer
Mar 8	Pressure grows on GPs to ditch 0844 surgery numbers	Pulse
Mar 7	JOHNSON: I'll end GP call charges	Hull Daily Mail & East Riding Mail
	End of line for GP call charges
Mar 6	Surgery defends decision to install premium phone line	Derby Evening Telegraph
Mar 5	City GPs told to ditch high-cost phone lines	Derby Evening Telegraph	Jade Beecroft
	Surgeries using 084 numbers
	...and phasing the numbers out
Feb 29	Surgeries urged to avoid costlier telephone systems	Newark Advertiser	Andrew Miller
Feb 28	Patients angry over higher call charges	Spalding Today	Adam Uren
Feb 23	Block on top-rate GP Lines	Enfield Independent
Feb 22	Hanging on the line - 'a costly wait'	Biggleswade Chronicle	Catherine Varney
Feb 21	GPs warned on use of premium phone numbers	Enfield Advertiser	Kim Brett-Richards
Feb 19	GP practices must publicise 0844 call costs	E Health Insider	Fiona Barr
Feb 14	GPs must tell patients about 0844 call cost	Pulse
Feb 11	Surgeries hang on over phone switch	Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Feb 4	Minister to cut NHS Direct charges to set example for GPs	Healthcare Republic	Nick Bostock
Feb 2	Surgeries stuck with the 'rip-off' numbers	Worcester News	James Connell
Feb 1	Warning over GPs' phone numbers	Sunderland Echo	Danielle Beeton
Jan 29	Practices use of 0844 numbers to be investigated	E Health Insider
Jan 24	Patient calls not a rip-off	North West Evening Mail
Jan 23	Government warns GPs over 084 phone charges	Pulse	Gareth Iacobucci
Jan 18	Immoral GP call practice must go	Hull Daily Mail & East Riding Mail
Jan 17	New phone system a boost for patients	Shields Gazette	Kaye Henry
Jan 16	Rethink on GPs and high-cost calls	Nottingham Evening Post	Clare Boyd
Jan 4	GPs start to cure calls complaints	Derby Evening Telegraph	Jade Beecroft
Jan 3	Doctors rapped on call charges	Derby Evening Telegraph	Jade Beecroft
	(all the surgeries using 084 numbers)
Jan 3	Call charges add insult to injury	Derby Evening Telegraph	editorial
2007
Dec 22	Surgeries in Notts using higher cost phone lines	Nottingham Evening Post	Clare Boyd
	(Local doctors using the 0844 numbers)
Dec 14	More anger over Gaywood and Dersingham GP calls	Lynn News	Amy Collett
Dec 4	Patients pay more for calling doctor	Northants Evening Telegraph	Simon Hughes
Dec 3	Calls to get tough on surgery phone lines	Bournemouth Daily Echo	Joanna Codd
Dec 1	Hotline burns a hole in your pocket	The Guardian	Richard Colbey
			Rupert Jones
Nov 27	New Gaywood 'phone service slammed	Lynn News	Amy Collett
Nov 27	Row over cost of 0844 phone number to call doctors	Exeter Express and Echo	Tom Arnold
Nov 21	GP practices defend using 0844 numbers	Bournemouth Daily Echo	Joanna Codd
Nov 19	GPs told to avoid premium numbers	The Times	David Rose
Nov 18	Doctors profit from patients' phone calls	Daily Telegraph
Nov 17	40p a minute... just to phone your GP	Daily Mail	Daniel Martin
Nov 14	Call to axe GP phone charges	Hull Daily Mail & East Riding Mail	Sian Harrison
Nov 13	GP practice asks if it should drop 0844 number	E Health Insider
Nov 9	GPs under pressure to drop 0844 surgery numbers	Pulse
Nov 5	Patients to have say on 0844 numbers	Worcester News	James Connell
Oct 26	Cost of being sick is rising	Swindon Advertiser	Stephanie Tye
Oct 20	MP calls for 0844 numbers review	Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Oct 17	Surgery calls 'rip-off' claim	BBC Look East	Stuart Ratcliffe
Oct 16	Health bosses plan to axe costly calls to GP surgeries	Leicester Mercury	Cathy Buss
Oct 15	'22 calls and £2.50 cost to get to see GP'	Leicester Mercury	Jenny Ousbey
Oct 8	Anger over GPs' phone call charges	Northampton Chronicle and Echo
Oct 4	Patient's fury at 'Cash Con' surgery calls	Gloucestershire Echo / The Citizen / The Forrester
Oct 2	Automated GP calls rile patients	bbc.co.uk News	Graham Satchell
Oct 2	The cost of contacting your doctor	BBC Breakfast
Oct 2	GPs rapped over 0844 numbers	BBC News 24	Graham Satchell
Oct 1	The price of calling the local GP is increasing as many practices ditch their local codes and opt for new '0844' numbers	Journal of Community Nursing
Sep 13	GPs blame PCTs in phone row	Pulse	Gareth Iacobucci
Sep 12	Doctors' surgeries under fire	BBC Points West	Clinton Rogers
Sep 12	Ringing the doctor may cost you more	Gloucestershire Echo / The Citizen / The Forrester
Sep 11	MPs join attack on 'rip-off' phonelines	Lancs Evening Post
Sep 7	Row over health centre phone lines	The Citizen Blackburn	Pete Magill
Sep 6	Doctors accused of rip-off phone lines	Lancs Evening Post	Aasma Day and Mark Hookham
Sep 5	Making appointments to become easier thanks to Surgery Line	Enfield Independent
Sep 1	Doctor defends premium rate lines	Worcester News	James Connell
Aug 31	Premium wait - Doctors charge 35p a minute as you hang on the phone	Yorkshire Evening Post	Mark Hookham
Aug 29	Anger at GP call charges	Birmingham Mail
Aug 28	Patients hit by higher cost of GP calls	Hull Daily Mail & East Riding Mail
Aug 28	GP surgery phone charges slammed	Birmingham Post	Jonathan Walker
Aug 27	Foster to lobby Government over GP premium rate numbers	Worcester News	James Connell
Aug 23	Inquiry into cost of calling doctor	Worcester News	James Connell
Aug 23	Probe into cost of calling the doctor	Evesham Journal
Aug 23	Patients pay more to phone doctor	The Comet (Hertfordshire)
Aug 22	Probe due on GP call costs	Express and Star (Kidderminster)
Aug 21	Health phone system chaos	West Sussex County Times
Aug 20	Doctors cash in on phone rip off	Worcester News	James Connell
Aug 17	GP surgeries defend phone number move	Rutland and Stamford Mercury
Aug 13	Doctors' call line cash swindle	The Sun
Jul 30	4 times dearer to call the doctor	Wigan News	Andy Cooney
Jul 27	Anger over doctors' surgery phone switch	Pendle Today	Alison King
Jul 26	GPs criticised for costly phone numbers	Norwich Evening News
Jul 26	GPs criticised over costly phone codes	Daily Telegraph	Rebecca Smith
Jul 25	GP phone numbers criticised	Lancashire Telegraph
Jul 24	Is the NHS really free at the point of use?	Careworld
Jul 24	Overcharging? Not what the doctor ordered	Lincolnshire Echo
Jul 23	Why it will cost more to phone your GP	The Times	David Rose
Jul 23	Outrage as GP surgeries 'cashing in' on patients' calls	Daily Mail	Rebecca Camber
Jun 16	Surgeries charge more for calling	Bournemouth Daily Echo
May 23	Surgery updates phone system	Craven Herald & Pioneer
May 21	High cost calls cause concern	Banbury Cake / Oxford Mail	Victoria Owen
Apr 20	GP seeks to reassure patients over surgery phone change	Braintree Times
Feb 5	Wharfe MP warns of GP practices using costly phone lines	Ilkley Gazette