5 December 2002
Medical Council launches 0800 freephone line
The Medical Council is today (5th December) launching a freephone 0800 number as a further step towards increasing the
Council’s accessibility to doctors and the public alike. Callers will be able to have greater access to advice on
subjects such as how to access the website, obtain Certificates of Good Standing, registration information as well as
the Council’s statements, guidelines and other publications.
This follows on from the launch of the online register of doctors and the first guide aimed primarily at patients in
mid-September – the ‘You and Your Doctor’ guide. Both of these have proved popular both with the medical profession and
the general public. The online register currently has 11,000 hits daily and over 1,300 copies of the ‘You and Your
doctor’ guide have been requested thus far.
The freephone number was one of the recommendations as a result of the Medical Council’s work in the arena of sexual
boundaries in the year 2000.
The new 0800 number, which will be trialled for the first three months, will work on a triage system. Calls will come
through to a voicemail that directs callers through to the Council’s services. Callers can press zero at any time to
speak to the receptionist. The freephone number is 0800 286 801. The Council’s current telephone number remains
available (this is 04 384 7635).
Tony Baird, President of the Medical Council said: “The Medical Council anticipates a plethora of calls to the freephone
line as awareness of its existence grows amongst the public and the medical profession. The Council has been working
towards this launch for the past year and we will monitor the type of queries we receive, from whom and in what quantity
very closely over the first three months’ trial period to ensure we are meeting public expectations and to further
improve the service we offer.”
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