NHS helpline gets £35m cash boost

The UK's National Health Service is to plough a further £35m into NHS Direct, its 24 hour helpline.

The cash injection means the service can be extended to another 13 areas in the North East and South West of the country. These will include some, which attract large numbers of tourists, such as Blackpool.

Nurses stationed in call centres provide round-the-clock expert health advice. The helpline gives patients information on how health problems should be tackled, and directs them to the right part of the NHS if further medical assistance is required.

The second wave of the helpline links social services to the call centres. Other proposals include an out of hours GP service.

Health minister Alan Milburn said that NHS Direct "is a key part of the government's modernisation programme for the NHS".

He claimed it was "at the heart of our plans to use new technology to modernise the health service and provide the public with fast and informed access to health information and advice".

Milburn said he hoped to provide national access to the service by the year 2000.