As the Trust H Q has the same number but also the geo number,  (01924 213850) I would suggest that number could be used!  And ask them why the hell are they using a rip off number!

I have just rang the 01924 number and it puts you through to the switchboard and they will transfer you to whichever hospital you want, but I do not know how long that will last, oh and they have been informed that the call cost is "local rate" 

Press release from when they introduced the new number:

http://www.midyorks.nhs.uk/News/New+hospital+telephone+number.htm

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New hospital telephone number

22 May 2006

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust is ringing the changes with the introduction of a new telephone system that will provide one main switchboard number for all calls.

From today (22 May) anyone calling Clayton, Dewsbury and District, Pinderfields or Pontefract hospitals will need to dial 0844 811 8110.

All calls to the new number, no matter where you are calling from across the UK, will be charged at local rates. Once connected callers, will be greeted by an automated service, which enables direct routing for those who know which department and member of staff they wish to talk to, and transfer to a switchboard operator for those in need of assistance.

Services manager, Angela Ferguson said: “Our switchboard operators currently handle around 80,000 calls every week. Many of the callers know exactly who they need to speak to, so don’t necessarily need the help of our switchboard staff. The new system will enable quicker, more direct routing for these calls. This should mean fewer people queuing to be connected providing an improved service for callers and improved job satisfaction for our operators.”

To help with the transition to the new number the Trust has been working closely with Cable and Wireless, who will be providing the automated service.

Martin Goodman, director of government and Public sector for Cable & Wireless said: “We’re keen to get things right from the start so that when people call the hospitals they get through to the right person or department as quickly and easily as possible. We’ve already been looking closely on the names of staff, so that we can programme the systems to take into account the different pronunciations callers might use.

“Also once operational, our high-spec technology will enable us to produce daily reports identifying any calls that we’ve been unable to connect, finding the cause and rectifying them. “

[…]
>>

Those trusts which give lame excuses for switching to 0844/5 should read this:

Source: Doncaster & Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Trust

http://www.dbh.nhs.uk/New_telephone_system_at_Bassetlaw_Hospital.asp

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New telephone system at Bassetlaw Hospital

A new telephone system goes live at Bassetlaw Hospital on Sunday 27 April.

The existing system, installed in 1987, is obsolete and is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. In 2006, a £400,000 capital scheme was approved to provide a replacement telephone system that would be reliable, resilient, flexible and compatible with the systems at DRI and Montagu Hospital.

The new system at Bassetlaw Hospital will provide a building block for the future strategy on telecommunications. It will allow the Trust to develop its strategy for converging the voice and data networks, to upgrade the Trust’s telephone systems with an IP-based network on all three sites, and improve resilience and business continuity.

[…]

The telephone number for Bassetlaw Hospital - 01909 500990 - will remain the same. There are no changes to existing extension numbers. […]
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As David Rose pointed out in his article, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust also uses 0844:

http://www.northumbria.nhs.uk/page.asp?id=232940

http://www.northumbria.nhs.uk/menu.asp?id=258232

Quote:

The Trust's so-called "lo-call" number costs 5 pence per minute at all times from most landlines and who knows how much from mobiles and payphones.

http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2008/05/21/hospital-made-15-000-...

Hospital made £15,000 from patients

May 21 2008 by Marie Levy, Evening Gazette

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A TEESSIDE hospital has admitted using a fixed rate telephone number to make money out of patients.

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust acquired an 0844 number two years ago so that it would have one number covering its three hospital sites.

A trust spokeswoman said it generated about £15,000 income.

The number only became fully operational in June 2007 as the trust was coming to the end of a period of significant financial recovery and was discontinued in January this year.

In reply to a complaint, John Maddison, director of finance, recently admitted: “We reluctantly took the decision to have the number because it generated a modest income for us at a time when we had a significant savings target to ensure that we could continue to provide safe, quality services to patients.”

The trust reverted back to its original numbers at the end of January this year following complaints from patients about the increased cost.

But it has been revealed that patients are still being charged if they dial the old number.

David Hickson of London has identified several hospital trusts that he claims are breaching the principle of the NHS being “free at the point of need” by making money out of the 0844 number.

Mr Hickson said North Tees has not completely phased out the 0844 number.

“You continue to receive income derived from patients as calls to 0844 8118222 are still being accepted, rather than being re-directed,” he told them.

Mr Hickson said he found the old number on web pages for NHS Choices search, NHS Choose and Book, NHS networks list of acute trusts, Radio North Tees and The University of Teesside.

“I also understand that calls to the 0844 number are still being solicited in materials published by the trust itself.”

Fixed rate telemarketing numbers such as the 5p-a-minute 0844 numbers generate additional income for businesses. Even small companies can generate thousands of pounds a year.

A spokeswoman for the trust said: “We have now contacted all of the organisations listed and informed them of our change of telephone number.

“We have also searched on Google and we are informing each organisation where our number is listed on their website that it is now changed.

“Where possible we give direct line numbers to patients, on patient information leaflets for example. However, as we go through the process of revising and updating leaflets, we will make sure that any reference to the 0844 number is removed.”
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Dave wrote on May 22^nd, 2008 at 7:14pm:


This is obviously worth a further complaint to deadlock stage with the NHS and/or the NHS Board and then on the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman if anyone on this site lives in the relevant part of the country.  I am not sure you could take it the Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman unless you or a relative are an actual potential user of these services though.

http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/Hospitals-made-80000-on-calls.4347226.jp

Hospitals made £80,000 on calls

Pinderfield and Dewsbury rake in telephone cash

Published Date:
01 August 2008
By Don Mort

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A HEALTH trust has raked in more than £80,000 in the past two years from charges for incoming phone calls to the district's hospitals.
Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust replaced local dialling codes with a revenue-sharing scheme using 0844 numbers in May 2006.

The change meant the trust received a proportion of the charges – 5p per minute from a landline and up to 40p a minute from a mobile – from the network provider.

Now health chiefs have revealed calls to Pinderfields, Pontefract and Dewsbury hospitals have generated 'in the region of £82,000' since the change.

The figures, requested by the Express via the Freedom of Information Act, were described as 'indefensible' by the Patients Association.

Vice chairman Michael Summers said: "We really don't think hospitals should extract money from patients from phone calls.

"They are ill and this is just a tax on them. It is indefensible.

"There is no regulation on this and trusts are able to charge what they like. It affects patients and families as people often don't know how long they are going to be in hospital."

Thousands of calls are made by patients, friends and relatives to hospitals every week, the trust receives 0.0275p for every 10-second call.

It said the phone system was more efficient and benefited patients as the cash was reinvested in services.

Contact forms have been posted on the trust website so people can make appointments and inquires without phoning.
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