Surgery denies premium rate claims

5:33pm Monday 28th April 2008

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A DOCTOR'S surgery has denied claims that it is using a premium rate phone number to fund its services.

Parkbury House Surgery in St Peters Street, St Albans appears to have turned a blind eye to guidance from Department of Health which urges practices using expensive revenue sharing phone numbers to switch to cheaper landlines.

It is the only surgery in the district to use a phone number with a 0844 prefix, which will cost patients more to ring and could earn the practice a rebate of 2p per minute on incoming calls.

Instead of paying three-and-a-quarter pence per minute for calls to landlines, patients will be charged up to 5p per minute, and up to 40p per minute from a mobile.

But practice manager Andrew Stennett said the 0844 number was introduced last October following months of consultation with patients who complained of a constant engaged tone when trying to book appointments over the phone.

He said the new automated system enables customers to book appointments easily and efficiently just by using their telephone keypad with the premium rate number covering rental and maintenance fees.

He denied allegations that money from patient calls contributed towards costs of the surgery's facilities.

He said: "Patients wanted us to do something about telephone access - this automated system was a way of improving that service.

"The new telephone system enables patients to phone in between 6.30 in the morning and 9.00 at night to book an appointment using their telephone keypad."