Ofcom, the UK Telecommunications regulator, has issued the 03 non-geographic number local rate number range for businesses, public service organisations, health organizations and charities requiring a national presence, but without callers incurring the additional charges associated with calling an 08 number.
Public Perception
Ofcom has responded to public disquiet about 08 numbers being used by organizations such as government services, utilities and the NHS. Ofcom have prohibited revenue sharing on 03 numbers and with charges for calling 03 numbers the same as calling standard 01/02 numbers, so the switch to 03 numbers is seen as a fairer alternative.
 PASA Registered |
Medical Practice and Health Authority 03 Numbers
03 Surgery Connect
Surgery Connect can combine a patient friendly 03 Medical Practice number with comprehensive call handling and appointment systems.
With an increase in public disquiet about the use of tariff bearing 0844 numbers (up to 5p per minute) by Medical Practices, and with a call for the NHS to adhere to it's original charter to be free at the point of access, local call rate 03 numbers are expected to become the preferred choice for GPs and Health concerns.
03 Surgery Connect provides a fully automated patient friendly medical phone system system at no extra charge to the patient.
UK Medical Practices are eligible for the 030 number ranges, including 0300 and 0303. Memorable numbers are available in these ranges, making it easier for patients to remember the number.
Health authorities, for example those with web addresses ending in '.nhs.uk', also qualify for the 030 number range.
03 vs 084 PBX
Many medical practices currently use 084 numbers linked to an in-house or virtual PBX system. The revenue generated by the 084 number is used to offset some of the cost of the call handling service, but in fact less than half the revenue generated is fed back to the practice and in the case of many of the providers, the rentals charged are so high that the practices are not really benefiting.
Additionally some 084 systems have calls artificially extended by unnecessary extension of the pre-queuing messages e.g. "We will now connect you to... surgery", with the sole intention of inflating revenue for the providers.
With a ban on the use of 084 numbers by Medical Practices and other parts of the NHS being considered by Government Ministers (BBC Article), an 030 number will be increasingly be the number of choice for health concerns and other public bodies.
03 Virtual PBX
03 Surgery Connect is an alternative Virtual PBX offering a greater range of features, significantly lower rental and at no extra cost to the caller above local rate.
03 Surgery Connect provides efficient call handling ensuring patients get through first time. A sophisticated set of PBX style and call management features such as Call Queuing, ACD, Voicemail and Call Recording allows Practice Managers to greatly improve the phone system within a fixed rental agreement, in contrast to the capital investment of a hardware solution.
When practices are closed, linking enables calls to be taken by another practice, or patients can be directed to an Out of Hours service using the simple-to-use web administration.
Call Queue Wallboard
Calls being held in a queue can be displayed on a wallboard providing immediate feedback on call handling. A variety of parameters, such as time in queue, can be displayed.
03 Surgery Connect Benefits
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Automated Call Handling |
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Patient Friendly Call Queueing |
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No Engaged Tone |
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Improved Patient Satisfaction |
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Call Recording for Training Purposes |
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03 Local Call Rate Number |
Improved Patient and Health Professional Communications
Surgery Connect can further improve communication paths between patients and staff using a suite of five services, including the 03 Virtual PBX, plus Alert Notification, Appointment and Medication Reminders, Voice and SMS Messaging and Phone-in Noticeboard.
Surgery Connect runs alongside existing communications infrastructure and can be managed via the Internet. This adds up to low setup and maintenance costs, minimal training requirement and high resilience.
Each Surgery Connect service can operate in isolation, integrate with others, or exchange data with third party systems.
Bundled Call Plan Minutes
Ofcom have insisted that 03 numbers be included in the same discount bundled call minutes schemes currently applicable to 01 and 02 geographic numbers. Providers must ensure calls made from mobile and pay phones must be comparable in operation and in cost to calls made from standard landline numbers.
03 Number Benefits
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UK wide national non-geographic phone presence |
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03 numbers charged at local call rate |
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Comprehensive 03 Virtual PBX integration |
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Number portability independent of business location |
Please contact our Sales Team on 0370 345 5577 to discuss your specific Surgery requirements or to set up a trial account.