Ministers increase pressure on GP’s to stop using 0845 and 0844 numbers in their surgeries.

Ministers have launched an England-wide consultation to ask the public whether they want GP surgeries to keep their 08 numbers.

Over 1000 surgeries across the UK are now using 0844 and 0845 numbers. These numbers generate a small amount of income for the practices, which is then spent on improving patient services.

These lo-call rate 08 numbers cost up to 5 pence a minute from a landline, and up to 20 pence a minute from a mobile.

Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said: “We are concerned that some people are paying over the odds to contact the NHS. For people on low incomes who need to contact their local doctor or hospital regularly, these costs can soon mount up.”

Both GP’s and the British Medical Association are defending the use of 08 numbers in general practice. Dr Laurence Buckman, GPC chair, said: ‘Where 0845 numbers are used by the NHS there is good evidence that patient satisfaction has improved, with better and quicker access to services because of the additional functions within the telephone system.’

In 2005 the Department of Health put pressure on GP’s to change from 0870 numbers, which cost the caller significantly more than the 0845 range.

An official review is being conducted into whether surgeries and governing bodies should be made to use the 03 number range. These numbers cost the same as a local call but will not contribute to funding the telephone systems currently installed in surgeries across the UK.

Ministers have failed to highlight how these services can be funded if these changes do take place.

One of the biggest mistakes any new business can make is not measuring accurately every aspect of their marketing campaigns.

Fortunately nowadays for most small businesses owners and marketers, the Internet has allowed us to measure the effectiveness of our online marketing without the need for too much techie knowledge.

Through the likes of Google Analytics we can analyse how much traffic our website is receiving, where visitors are clicking and how many pages they are looking at.

By then further analysing our visitors behaviour, we can optimise our website and as a result increase our sales.

But… what happens if instead of clicking on the company website your potential customer rings your business, how do you identify where they found your contact details?

Call Whisper service

By using multiple 08 prefix numbers you can monitor and analyse the effectiveness of every one of your advertisements. For example, when a potential customer rings your 0800, 0844, 0871 or 0870 number, you will hear an announcement of it source e.g. ‘this call is from your Thomson local advertisement.’

By monitoring all your inbound contact points you can analyse accurately the value of a particular advertising medium, ensuring that any unproductive campaigns are ended sooner rather than later.

Who are we?

08 Direct is a privately owned telecommunications company. We specialise in supplying businesses with non-geographical numbers e.g. 0800, 0844, 0845, 0870, 0871 and 0800 numbers.

Why are we writing a blog?

For a number of reasons really. First and foremost, we will be condensing down into a handful of weekly posts, important telecoms news relevant to UK businesses.

Secondly we will be highlighting how these issues could impact your business. Our telecoms experts will then give you practical advice on the best course of action for you to take.

What will we be blogging about?

• Keeping you up-to-date on any important legislative changes from Ofcom to the way 08 numbers work
• Giving you useful information on how to get the most out of 08 numbers and the services which are currently available to users
• Case studies of how businesses both large and small have used 08 numbers to improve the day-to-day running of their businesses

Can I leave feedback?

Of course! We want you to get involved! Feel free to leave comments on our posts and our experts will try their utmost to answer them!