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‘Phone charges are not a rip-off’

9:33am Wednesday 23rd May 2007

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A group of GP surgeries insist calls to its new telephone system are charged at under 5p a minute despite claims from patients that they have been billed at six times that figure.

The Argyle Medical Group was formed following the amalgamation of the St Oswald's Surgery in Pembroke and the Laws Street and Dimond Street practices in Pembroke Dock.

The group had been experiencing problems with the telephone system set up to handle calls from the large number patients who use the three practices.

One man claimed the combination of a lengthy queuing system, a problem which has now been resolved, and calls charged at 30p a minute left him with a bill for £3.25 for a single call.

The company which runs the telephone system has reimbursed the patient, but doesn't accept that the 0844 numbers are charged at 30p a minute.

"The rate of calls for 0844 numbers from a land-line is fixed by OfCom, the regulatory body for telecoms, at 4.2p plus VAT per minute,'' said a spokesman for the Surgery Line Team.

"Calls from mobiles and payphones are higher, but will be the same as when calling the old surgery 01646 number.'' The company has admitted that a technical issue' immediately after the system had been installed had kept callers on hold even though the lines were clear.

Patients had reported significant difficulties getting through to staff to make appointments and secure prescriptions.

Practice manager Juliet Goldsworthy said these issues had now been resolved: "It is a whole lot better.

"We have 30 lines coming in with more staff to deal with calls.

"Patients have been really quite tolerant and we are very grateful to them for bearing with us,'' she said.

The Surgery Line Team promised to continue monitoring the situation to ensure problems did not reoccur.

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Tim McMahon, pennar says...
9:55am Wed 23 May 07

In the first few weeks the booking in was not running smoothly but with every new venture there is always teething problems.However the facilities and new centre far outweighs these initial hiccups.It is modern and a credit to Pembroke Dock in initiative to progress in health services.I have phoned the centre and not noticed any increased charges although it was recently.

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Andrew, Pennar says...
12:19pm Wed 23 May 07

First, many households don't have a fixed phone anymore. The households most likely to not have a landline are those with lower incomes - so having to pay 30p/min hurts them disproportionately. Second, you pay when you are in the queueing system now. Previously you only used to pay when you got through - if the line was busy you weren't connected, and had to ring back later - but you weren't charged. Third, these charges could affect old people who are on 'light usage' tarrifs - it doesn't take much to increase their bills to the point where they tip into paying normal rates. Fourth, 30 lines sounds good - but the reality is that, answering the phones, there are now less people for the four surgeries put together than there were before the change.

It is as if no one has been responsible for the change over. All the cheapest (for the surgery) things have been carried over to the new one, rather than the best bits of each. Its no longer possible to ring in for a repeat prescription - you have to visit, if you don't have a fax machine, which makes a second visit necessary. The queues for reception (which aren't managed in any way, not even a 'queue here' sign) are terrible, and starting to cause anxiety and discord because people queue jump (and I can understand why - its not easy queueing for 20 minutes with little ones in tow). And again, less staff are dealing with more people.

GPs are given money to run a phone system. Instead of sorting it out properly they've gone to a company which gives them a cut (about 2p/minute) of the telephone charges. Sort it out, eh?

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Susie, Pembroke Dock says...
3:06pm Wed 23 May 07

What a total fiasco at the new Argyll surgery. My friend spent £4.50 from a call box trying to get through to the triage nurse for an appointment. It's nigh on impossible to get an appointment now & you can no longer ring for a repeat prescription.

It's about time doctor's surgeries realised that they are there to provide a public service, not a profit making organisation. I honestly feel that all the changes are made with the intention of discouraging people from attending surgery. This new 'Super Surgery' is a step backwards.

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John Culshaw, Pembroke says...
2:16am Fri 25 May 07

"Calls from mobiles and payphones are higher, but will be the same as when calling the old surgery 01646 number.' That's a lie. If you're on a vodafone contract, its not part of your free minutes to dial 0844 numbers. If you're out of free minutes, it was only 10p a minute to ring 01646. Now it costs 25p a minute. Who gets that extra money? The same with if you're pay as you go, its more for that too - 35p a minute. Who can afford taht? Also the most that BT charges for a local call is 3p. Thats not the same as 4.2p. Just give us a proper number to dial and that would sort that one.

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