40% of NHS Direct callers told to treat themselves at home

Four out of 10 callers to NHS Direct are advised to look after themselves at home, according to a poll published today.

The survey of 4,554 callers found that many were given telephone advice while 11 per cent were referred to A&E, 28 per cent to a GP (10 per cent of those for urgent appointments), 5 per cent to walk-in centres, 4 per cent to a dentist and 3 per cent to a pharmacist.

NHS Direct said the findings proved the service took pressure off GP surgeries and A&E.

Almost three-quarters of callers said they would have gone to A&E or their GP if they had not been able to call NHS Direct.

Last June, doctors and ambulance crews accused NHS Direct of referring too many patients to GPs and emergency services.

They said urgent referrals were given to patients with only minor problems like sprains and high temperatures.

NHS Alliance said the referrals put a strain on the system, which could put patients with real emergencies at risk.

Today, Dr Michael Dixon, NHS Alliance chairman and a GP, said further improvements could be made to the service but NHS Direct may be proving itself cost effective.

He said: "NHS Direct is a valuable service that patients appreciate. It is good to see it is now achieving more of what it set out to do - relieving pressure on GP surgeries and A&E.

"However it needs to work more closely with general practice to ensure the best possible advice is given to individual patients and continuity of care maintained.

"Interestingly, about the same proportion of patients contacting out-of-hours services - approximately 4 in 10 - are also advised how to treat themselves at home.

"Consistent results from both sectors suggest that NHS Direct is now proving itself in terms of cost effectiveness."

NHS Direct chief executive, Matt Tee, said of today's survey: "These figures quite clearly show that NHS Direct is helping take the pressure off GP surgeries and A&E.

"What is particularly significant is how many of the callers advised to treat themselves at home would have otherwise gone to doctors' surgeries and A&E.

"It is also clear that the public like the service they get.

"Our patient satisfaction ratings are very high compared to almost any health, call-centre or online service.

"We know there are huge opportunities for further use of telephone, internet and TV in healthcare, but it's good to know that what we do today has such a positive effect and is appreciated by the public."

Of those patients questioned by NHS Direct, 93 per cent said the referral process was efficient and the same percentage said NHS Direct helped them deal with the issue they were calling about.

Of the 4,163 callers who followed NHS Direct's advice, 95 per cent were satisfied.

The three main reasons for calling the service were a new health concern, such as illness or injury (65 per cent), general information (22 per cent) and an existing complaint which was getting worse (12 per cent).

The results of 35 interviews with providers of health services found they felt NHS Direct had a tendency to err on the side of caution.

While understanding the need for such caution, they thought the referral system at NHS Direct could be improved.

Mr Tee said: "Following this research, we are examining a number of options including highlighting how many calls are diverted away from each provider to counterbalance providers' experience of inappropriate referrals.

"We are also considering providing an increased quantity of referral documentation which would help counteract claims of those who feel NHS Direct duplicates existing services."