In most cases it won’t.  An 0844 number is not a premium rate number. Not only is the cost of the call comparable to one made to a local number, but because the telephone system is more efficient, you should be on the phone for less time.

Many Doctors  & Dentists surgeries with the Surgery Line system have found that average call durations have decreased by up to half, meaning that it should take you less time to book an appointment. We have changed over to 0844 numbers in order to improve the service we offer our patients and to help staff operate more effectively.

Those patients who will pay more because of their telecom provider’s rate package will only find themselves paying on a few pence extra for the call.  We do not make a ‘profit’ out of the 0844 calls - this is written into our contract.

Calls from mobile phones to 0844 numbers are subject to the providers’ charges. All 08 NGN (non geographic numbers) tend to be excluded from calling plans unless you specifically state these numbers as part of your ‘bundled minutes’, although this depends on your provider. 0844 numbers are charged at 3.9p per minute +2.9p per call+ VAT at all times.

Some patients therefore will benefit from this change and some may not. Generally though, patients as a whole will not be worse off then they are now, and those that are paying more will find that over a year it is only a few pence.

I cannot emphasise enough that this change has been introduced only to improve the service we give and for no other reason.