The new NHS Direct helpline has been given a clean bill of health by the National Audit Office.

In its report the government spending watchdog praised the service for its smooth introduction, which cost £22 million, its associated website and for achieving its target of awareness among 60 per cent of the population by March 2002.

Forum Response: Consumers Association

Kaye McIntosh, spokeswoman for the Consumers' Association, told ePolitix.com: "We're pleased that NHS Direct has changed the way it handled some calls as a result of Health Which? research. In August 2000, we found call handlers were sometimes not putting patients with serious health problems through to nurses, and in some cases NHS Direct failed to give the right advice. We had concerns about the role of NHS Direct call handlers, the remit of the nurses, and the protocols they use. Now the National Audit Office report clearly shows an improvement in service levels.

"NHS Direct, is clearly an important and valuable service for patients, yet we know that patients still need access to more and better information about their health and health services, for example about waiting lists. We would like to see NHS Direct developed to play a bigger role in this area.

"The service, as the National Audit Office report shows, also needs to work harder to reach significant parts of the population - older people, disabled people, those from ethnic minority groups and those who are less well off - than it is currently doing.

"It's also important that staff don't follow computer protocols too rigidly, but treat people as individuals with individual symptoms and needs when they call."

Forum Response: National Audit Office

Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, told ePolitix.com: "It was a significant achievement getting NHS Direct up and running in less than three years. The service is valued by those who use it and, according to the evidence available, is starting to meet its aim of directing people to more appropriate forms of healthcare.

"The challenge now for NHS Direct is to meet the expected rapid increase in callers and to set a clear future direction for the service. NHS Direct should also address the fact that some social groups are tending not to use the service, and increase the proportion of callers who are promptly connected to a nurse."