Stop using expensive 084 numbers, Department of Health tells GPs

The Department of Health has issued a reminder to GPs and NHS bodies to stop using expensive 084 numbers. The guidance document highlights that GPs and NHS organisations' phone lines should not cost more to call than a geographic number, those starting with either 01 or 02. The use of premium rate numbers in the NHS, such as those beginning 0870 or 09, was banned by the department in 2005. The ban excluded 084 numbers which, while they can cost more than a call to a geographic number, are not considered premium rate. In directions to NHS bodies and GP practices issued in 2009 and regulations passed in 2010, NHS organisations were compelled to make sure patients were not charged more to contact them than they would be calling a local number. As a result, the bodies were banned from entering into, renewing or extending a phone contract unless they were sure that that was the case. However, according to a January Commons debate, misconceptions around the use of 084 numbers remained. "Since the rules came into force, I understand that there has been confusion in the NHS about what the regulations and the directions include… There have been claims that mobile phones are not covered by the 2010 regulations, but that is not true," health minister Simon Burns told the debate. Calls to GP practices and NHS bodies should not cost more regardless of whether the call comes from a mobile, landline or payphone, the Department of Health's guidance document reiterates. Where an 084 number does not cost more to call, NHS bodies and GP practices can continue using it, the guidance adds. The document reminds NHS bodies that where call costs are exceeding those for geographic numbers "all reasonable steps must be taken to ensure this does not continue", including cancelling or renegotiating telephony contracts or providing an alternative geographic number. This article is published by Guardian Professional. For weekly updates on news, debate and best practice on public sector IT, join the Guardian Government Computing network here .