0844 calls to doctors

harry4444

My doctor arranged for me to have an MRI scan at Musgrave Park Hospital and when the appointment came I had to confirm that I would be attending---the phone number was 0870......... and when answered I had to go through a long checklist of questions (for safety reasons). GP's--now hospitals---what next?:mad:

amber9876

my new surgery are soo tight they don't have a single magazine to read. They don't have anything for kids to play with. They don't have a tv. Not even a goldish in a bowl lol my other surgery had all of these and others have at least a few old mags.
When you go to the receptionist you are told your number then you have to ask the other patients what number they are to find out when its your turn! lol
On top of that they have the audacity to use the 0844 number!!

purt

36square wrote: »

Has your GP set up an 0844 number? Mine has and it costs a minimum 11p to book an appointment. A local rate call costs a min 6p with BT so who's collecting the difference. Not our fat cat GPs (average annual income around £100K) I hope.

I've nothing to add to this thread other than to express my disgust that someone could refer to a GP as a 'fat cat'. Doctors of any description train for years and pay a fortune to get through university alone. It's an important profession and they deserve to be paid well.

36square

culchied wrote: »

I've nothing to add to this thread other than to express my disgust that someone could refer to a GP as a 'fat cat'. Doctors of any description train for years and pay a fortune to get through university alone. It's an important profession and they deserve to be paid well.

Yes, of course you can never pay doctors enough. I mean if a banker can make £1mn a year surely every GP is entitled to at least twice that, especially since the taxpayer is paying it.
And we mustn't forget our "wonderful" nurses. Sure don't they all go to university as well now. That means they should be starting on six figures at least.

ballyblack

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5969045/Family-doctors-earn-more-than-300000.html

kpwll

I have no objection to GPs earning a very good wage, my life depends on them. I do object to them earning more money from the 0844 number they introduced a couple of years ago because they advertise it as a 'lo-call rate' number, when it is anything but. With ours you can guarantee that you are on the phone at least 2 mins BEFORE you will be told that 'the surgery is busy, please call back later'.
More and more companies/businesses etc are using these numbers now since BT included 0845/0870 numbers in their 'free' calls.

36square

kpwll
Does BT include 0844 numbers in its 'free' calls? Even if it does, that's not much help to those of us who have left BT and don't have any reason to return.

kpwll

No it doesn't (or didn't the last time I called the Dr) and what was even more galling was that you could be in the surgery itself and you weren't allowed to make an appointment in person, you HAD to phone the surgey. This went on for over a year, they have since changed this because they received so many complaints.

purt

36square wrote: »

Yes, of course you can never pay doctors enough. I mean if a banker can make £1mn a year surely every GP is entitled to at least twice that, especially since the taxpayer is paying it.
And we mustn't forget our "wonderful" nurses. Sure don't they all go to university as well now. That means they should be starting on six figures at least.

Your ignorance is breathtaking.

Why don't we pay them a pittance then, continue to let them wrack up huge debts for all their year's study at university and let them come out with a salary that amounts to an average graduate's when their debts are factored in. When there's a shortage of doctors as a consequence of that, we'll see how ignorant you choose to be then.

blueberrypie

36square wrote: »

Does BT include 0844 numbers in its 'free' calls? Even if it does, that's not much help to those of us who have left BT and don't have any reason to return.

No, BT does not include 0844 in its "free" calls. It does include 0845 numbers, but only during the times that you're getting "free" calls anyway - so if, like me, you're on the "free weekends" deal, you're charged for any 0845 calls during the week.

The whole 0845/0844 thing is a con. There are lots of people who don't realise they are *not* being charged at local rate for these calls, and lots of businesses and organisations which believe their clients are paying local rate for calling them using these numbers.