New record system sees patients experience phone delays

Date: 10/01/2012

Investing in 0800 phone numbers may help one NHS Trust to ensure members of the public are not charged large amounts for calls made to a new Patient Contact Centre.

The Banbury Cake reports how individuals have complained about being held on the line for almost an hour in a bid to make appointments at John Radcliffe, Churchill and Horton hospitals.

It is understood a new £15.7 million computerised record system is behind the troubles, as staff are struggling to use it effectively.

A spokesperson for the Oxford University Hospitals Trust said: "This changeover to a comprehensive digital patient record to replace paper patient records is one of the largest operational changes that the trust has undertaken for a considerable time."

As a result, it was suggested a period of adjustment is to be expected while the system is bedded in.

Introducing 0800 numbers may help to avoid too many patient complaints as such numbers are free to call from landlines.