Phone banking and mail order are essential tools of modern living, while e-mail and the internet give us what we want to know exactly when we need to know it.

Now our precious Health has entered this user-friendly world. TANIA COCKSEDGE reports...

Essex mums with a sickly child in the middle of the night, anxious pensioners and any of us with a niggling problem can get telephone advice round the clock.

Last week NHS Direct went live across the county at Essex Ambulance Service headquarters in Chelmsford.

Nurses are at the end of the phone to answer health queries, whether it be acting tonic for a caller's worries, giving pharmacy opening times, advising them to book an appointment with their GP or transferring the call to 999.

It is difficult to dig out scepticism or criticism about it from health professionals - it is very much a case of suck it and see.

Government cash is pledged ad infinitum and NHS Direct will be at the mercy of its success, new directions in health policy and any failures.

The Government says it is committed to having a nationwide service by 2000.

The initiative was launched in Lancashire, Northumbria and Two Shires (Northants and Bucks) a year ago, and Essex is one of 13 pilot schemes in the UK in this second wave.

NHS Direct is part of the white paper "The New NHS - Modern, Dependable" and says it wants to provide simple and speedy access to health information.

With the NHS frequently bulging at the seams, the Government hopes it will improve cost-effectiveness and mean less demands on other health services - advice on how to treat an illness at home could mean one unnecessary trip to the doctor.

With an ever-growing number of health and fitness magazines and books and support and awareness groups, we as a nation are increasingly aware of what illnesses and treatments are out there.

But our over-burdened health service cannot always come up with the goods.

Personal responsibility and self-help can be seen as a philosophy behind NHS Direct.

Like the "Think before you drink, before you drive" campaign it's a case of "Think before you over burden your casualty department or GP surgery with your problem".

Because it is free and readily available, there is potential for misuse. Boreham GP Dr Jeremy Spurr said NHS Direct would complement existing services.

"I think health is very popular and an ever growing subject and the more access people have to good quality health education the GPs and hospitals will benefit.

"A lot of patients are very anxious, and being able to ask questions and get a sympathetic hearing is the basis of a GP's surgery.

"The concerns that GPs might have is it might potentially create more work. I feel GPs are concerned about this but the evidence is to the contrary.

"Giving telephone advice is difficult. But I think they know that and build safety into it."

One important role of NHS Direct was showing what nurses could do, he said.

"Essex is trailing NHS Direct and clearly instrumental in shaping the NHS for other parts of the country."

John Kotz, chairman of Mid Essex Community Health Council, called it an exciting project.

"Providing people use the service it will clearly take pressure off accident and emergency in the sense they will not get people there who do not need to be there.

"The important thing is to be absolutely positive about it. It's got every reason to be an efficient service."

Kate Gill, chief officer of North East Essex Community Health Council said there is a lack of access points for the public to get advice about health issues.

"I think its main blessing will be in the middle of the night and weekends when people can't get their own doctor for advice," she said.

Launch - NHS Direct steering group chairman Damien McMagnus launched the Essex service from Chelmsford

Picture: CLARE BANKS Fact file

Since going live on February 1 with NHS Direct in Essex over 700 calls have been answered by the call takers and 15 nurses.

Of the 700, 328 were reassured and advised on how to solve the problem without a trip to their GP or hospital, while 12 were immediately transferred to 999.

The highest number of calls (84) related to children between five and 12, with a similar number in the 13 to 21 year range.

Last Sunday was the busiest day so far (up to February10) with over 140 calls in 24 hours.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.