Can anyone offer a postal address, via private message, if they would like the page (page number 24 since you ask) from July's issue of Comms Dealer which has an article about Richard Chapman of NEG?

I can not scan it adequately and so will be happy to post it.

Oh yes, it has a photo as well. 

I notice that they expect to take 20% of the GP surgery market in the next 5 years.

Quote:
NEG will (like they did with surgeries) make it sound like magic and beneficial for everyone including parents, etc regardless of the fact it will cost us more to ring the schools.

I work on & off for our local DELL (Department for Education & Lifelong Learning), basically the education dept, and until about over a year ago most of the schools within its district had different area codes.  Most schools now use the same type of geographical number (area code) this is because its now internal for the education dept to ring a school whereas before hand they had to pay for the call.

The deal was struck with Telewest but not sure how long the minimum term (assuming there is one) would be?  It could be a longterm deal they have as Telewest are used for all their communication needs now.

I therefore hope that our council/education department don't take NEG up on their offer.

From Camden Practice Managers (Google Groups) - a threaded discussion

http://groups.google.com/group/camdenpracticemanagers/browse_frm/thread/4463f161...

Dear All,

I have just had an interesting meeting with manager from Neg
re: Surgery Line- about a new telephone system to improve
access(part of DES).Demo was impressive. Does anyone have
system??OR
considering?


Would PM Forum be interested in him doing a brief
presentation at next meeting? He is considering offering an
attractive package if more than 5 practices sign up.


Simla
Primrose Hill Surgery


++

Hi Simla et all
We went live with NEG last month.
All ok so far but some patients have had an issue around calls costing 4p
per minute to an 0844 number from a landline. Calls are much more expensive
from a mobile as it turns out.
We are selling it to patients on the basis that it shortens the time they
have to wait, their call is handled in the order that it comes in rather
than ad hoc getting through and then ad hoc answering as under our old
system and they know where they are in the queue so they can make a choice
to call later if they wish.
So far so good.
Michael

Michael Cahalan
Practice Manager
The Keats Group Practice

++

Interesting.  We also had a presentation but could
  not envisage how it would work out in practice and
  left it for the time being.  Does it affect the
  computer system at all?  Are there savings for the
  surgery involved?


  Monika

++

Interesting. Please send me contact number.

Thanks Maryla


Maryla A Wood
Practice Manager
Belsize Priory Medical Practice
208 Belsize Road, London NW6 4DX
Tel 02075302638 Fax 02075302645

++

Hi Everyone
Mazzie from the LMC has just been on the phone and she wants to assure all
practices that the LMC will be taking the deduction policy up with the
Patient Data and that they are due to have a meeting with the PCT to discuss
this issue. They are surprised that this is happening as nothing has been
agreed with the LMC. The meeting is scheduled for next week

Thanks
Ethel
Mrs Ethel Orr  FIHM
Practice Manager
Brondesbury Medical Centre
279 Kilburn High Road
London
NW6 7JQ


Telephone No. Direct line 020 7328 8890

++

Hi
I have just had another long discussion with Deepak Patel. He insists it is
a National procedure that has been implemented to facilitate Choose and
Book. There are two distinct parts one is his tightening up on FP69
procedures or registering with New GMS 1 being required. Then there is the
removal of patients with??? NHS numbers. I cannot get a clear answer from
him as to how removal from our lists of people with these incomplete NHS
numbers is going to help. I am told it may provide extra or new information.
HOW!! The fact that we have been told nothing about this and only find out
when irate patients demand to know what is going on, seems to escape them. I
suggested that the odds of any new information appearing on the new GMS1
when both parties completing it are unaware that new information is being
sought, was remote at best. I have recently had one patient removed for ?NHS


And we completed new GMS1, faxed it to Deepak and then 7 days later
reregistered. That was on 24 April. Patient still has not been accepted and
Deepak says we, the surgery, will have to deduct him again, by high level
security and then reregister again.
I estimate that the extra administration work so far on this topic is one
full time staff for one day. A significant staff cost increase. This is
partly due to total lack of information as to what is going on.


Regards


John


Mr John S Orr   MBE
Practice Manager
Swiss Cottage surgery
2 Winchester Mews
LONDON
NW3 3NP
0870 890 2451

++

Hi Simla et all


We have had the system for two years and had it expanded to double its
original capacity when we moved to Swiss Cottage.


We had complaints at first because the patient line was an 0870 number, with
Government approval. Changed to 0844 number when Government changed mind.
System has been very reliable accept for few technical problems on
expantion.

Patients still complain as any system can only have so much capacity and so
many people to answer the phones. We have increased to three reception staff
one on phones two on patients/phones from 0900 to 1100. This helps.

The system is PC based and, if you authorise, the company can dial in to fix
minor software glitches when they occur. This obviously means a much quicker
repair time for any problems, but we have had few.

Cost, you will be aware you pay them money they pay you money depending on
how much rebate you make. The sums are quite complicated and it takes time
to see whether you are paying less for your comms or more. We were paying
far less when we started in Compayne but I think now we have expanded we may
be paying more. I cannot say for certain for about another 4-5 months. If
you sit with the rep with all your annual telephone bills and if you are not
good at translating financial speak, get someone who is to sit with you, or
go through it afterwards. Then you will be able to assess for your surgery.

...

Great - more surgeries interested in NEG lies.

This quote was the most promising I thought:-
Quote:
Especially as he does mention that calls from mobile is much more expensive.  Then again, there answer to that is its outside their control and its upto the mobile networks what they want to charge.

This is true but right now the mobile networks are getting away with charging upto 40p/min for these calls and all our so-called Ofcon have done is forcing them to become more open with the call charges on their website.

The very least useless Ofcon could have done is forced those mobile networks that wanted to charge around the 40ppm mark to have a call announcement on these calls to alert us consumers.  Just how many consumers actually read the cost of calls to these numbers from the mobile networks websites?  Likely to be near zero simply because 084x is still widely perceived as local rate and 087x is still perceived as national rate.