One of Cumbria's largest GP practices, which has just installed a sophisticated new phone system, has assured patients that they won't be ringing-up extra charges when they call the surgery.
 
Following recent criticism of money-spinning 0845 numbers used by many doctors, the Birbeck Medical Group in Penrith says its new system operates at just normal local rates.

Now the practice is also offering to act as a model for other surgeries which are tempted by offers of new high-tech telephone installations which leave patients out of pocket.

According to practice manager Anne Bowmer, Birbeck Medical Group has achieved the same technology and savings by working with Carlisle telecoms specialist Online Systems.

And unlike other practices, they won't be asking patients to underwrite the cost with premium calls.

Anne said that the surgery recently decided to update its previous telephone system to ensure that the practice could respond quickly and efficiently to callers.

On one Monday alone this month, said Anne, they received over two thousand calls - and there was a need to ensure that some of these, such as emergency cases, were given priority.

She was, though, concerned at recent comments by the telecoms watchdog Ofcom about "rip-off phone charges" which sometimes cost patients up to 40 pence a minute.

Anne, who has worked at the Penrith GP surgery for over 30 years, studied some of the revenue-sharing deals available - but didn't like what she saw:

"Many claimed that the cost of the system would be partially funded by the premium-rate numbers - but then made unrealistic estimates of how much revenue such calls would generate.

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"In the end, I worked out that our practice would have to make up the shortfall in cash - and patients would still end up out of pocket. Neither they nor we would gain anything," said Anne.

Instead, she turned to Carlisle's Online Systems which already provides systems for many medical and other professional practices in Cumbria. Her aim was to achieve the same benefits as an 0845-funded deal - but without any of its financial penalties.

"What we got has convinced me that many medical practices and their patients are being taken for a ride - and that the criticism of these high-cost numbers is entirely justified," said Anne.

The practice's system, now up and running, has all the advanced features the surgery required, including wireless headphones, an ability to deal with multiple callers, software to analyse use of the system - and, most importantly, an efficient and patient-friendly response to incoming calls.

 Formed in 1992, Kingstown-based Online Systems has grown to become the largest independent designer and installer of business telephone systems in the North West.

Sales manager Greg Morton says the company has always urged clients to look at alternatives to deals which claim to offset the cost of a phone system with a premium-rate number.

He says they often fall far short of the promises made - and his company has taken out a number of such systems used in Cumbrian medical practices because of discontent by doctors and patients.

Meanwhile, Anne says that the 50 staff at the Birbeck Medical Group now work under a lot less stress - and that the group is delivering a more accessible service to its 16,000 Eden area patients.

"It was time that the whistle was blown on money-making phone numbers, and we are now offering to show any other Lakeland practices what can be achieved without making patients pay," said Anne.