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0700 NHS Patient Line Phone numbers

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Does anyone know what the cost is of calls to 0700 NHS Patient line numbers. Is it the same from BT, Virgin Landlines and Skype. Is it cheaper to phone after 7 0'clock in the evening. I believe the charge is ridiculously high. Is there an alternative to an 0700 number I have tried Say No to 0870 but no luck. Help i have a relative in hospital and the cost of speaking to him seems exorbitant.

Comments

  • diamonds
    diamonds Posts: 6,048 Forumite
    Debt-free and Proud!
    edited 30 October 2012 at 7:44PM
    I'd be reporting that to Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt.


    Jeremy previous position was the the boss of the Communications Minister as Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport.


    That dept and Ministers/MP's part funds our useless telecom regulator Ofcom, think the !!!! could link his three major public service roles experience together and see inequalities ?

    I mean he was the Shadow Disablity Minister once....& he lets 07000 usage happen in the NHS after being head of Telecoms and now the NHS, lol just LOL !

    Hopeless UK MP's as ever ! Whats right in front of him he cant see, woods and trees...woods & trees....

    [EMAIL="%20huntj@parliament.uk"]huntj@parliament.uk[/EMAIL]
    SO... now England its the Scots turn to say dont leave the UK, stay in Europe with us in the UK, dont let the tories fool you like they did us with empty lies... You will be leaving the UK aswell as Europe ;)
  • wantmemoney
    wantmemoney Posts: 836 Forumite
    edited 30 October 2012 at 8:07PM
    Is there an alternative to an 0700 number
    yes, your relative's mobile phone number.........

    and how much do you have to pay for 'visitor' car park charges

    the blood sucking !!!!!!!s

    people should start getting some balls and start refusing these rip offs.
  • ISTR that, some years ago, Ofcom was going to shift all 070 numbers to the unused 06 range to eliminate confusion with mobile phone numbers.

    No surprise really that business interests instead of those of the citizen consumer took precidence and the idea was shelved.
    30 years, 217 days!
  • Buzby
    Buzby Posts: 8,275 Forumite
    OFCOM wouldn't do this - it was they who came up with the idea that 'personal number ranges' would be on 070, and in fact THEY were the first users of the 07 numbering space. Mobile phones didn't join them for a year.

    Since this issue is one of tariff, not technical - only the 09 number range provides the relevant warning of higher costs of calling, but whether they'll do it is anyone's guess.
  • Stompa
    Stompa Posts: 8,375 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    The cost of these calls is indeed exorbitant. But it's also extremely irritating that for each call you are forced to listen to around 90 seconds of recorded preamble, which seems to be unnecessarily verbose and spoken deliberately slowly. At the very least you should be given the option of skipping this message.
    Stompa
  • thefirs
    thefirs Posts: 705 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    If you or a friend or relative have a spare mobile, have that taken into the patient at the next visiting time. The NHS are normally now quite happy to have patients use mobiles provided other patients aren't disturbed.

    Probably cheaper even to buy a budget phone with a fiver credit than to make calls to these usurous rate lines.
  • When my late mother was in Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport, they had these expensive phones at every bed, but the staff were quite happy for people to call the ward telephone when we wanted to speak to her as they were all against these sky high telephone costs. Have you asked if the ward staff will do the same for your relative?

    The other alternative is to provide your relative with a cheap mobile phone and ring them on that.
    "There are not enough superlatives in the English language to describe a 'Princess Coronation' locomotive in full cry. We shall never see their like again". O S Nock
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