COST OF CALLING DOCTORS' SURGERIES

That this House strongly deplores the practice of doctors' surgeries setting up more expensive telephone numbers with an 0844 prefix, which are up to four pence a minute more expensive to call from a standard BT landline, through which patients have to book appointments, although the telephone watchdog Ofcom is rightly critical of the idea; believes that this unfairly penalises the less well off; and urges the greater use of geographical telephone numbers for such purposes.