NHS phone questions down, Web queries up

NHS Direct, Britain's National Health Services' telephone help line, reported answering nearly 250,000 inquiries during the 10-day holiday period.

During the same period, NHS Direct's online service reported more than a quarter-million visits, Health and Insurance Protection said.

While the number of calls to the National Health Services' telephone line was 15 percent lower than for the previous holiday period, the government agency reported a 30-percent increase in visits to its Web site.

The top 10 topics were abdominal pain, dental- and mouth-related pain, coughing, vomiting, toothache, sore throat, chest pain, diarrhea, earache and fever in children.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International