AN NHS phone line which gives advice on a range of ailments has already proved a big success in Worcestershire.

NHS Direct was due to be extended to cover the whole of England today with a launch by Secretary of State Alan Milburn and Health Minister Gisela Stuart, who lives in the county.

NHS Direct Day aims to celebrate the achievements that NHS Direct has made in the short time that it has been in operation.

The phone-line is a new 24-hour clinical advice service which was first launched to parts of the country in spring 1998.

NHS Direct Midland Shires has also been formed under the NHS Direct umbrella. It opened its lines to the public on Tuesday, October 31.

Highly experienced

The site, which covers Worcestershire, Herefordshire, seven health authorities and four other counties is already proving successful.

More than 2,000 people have already called the 24-hour nurse-led helpline, which serves a combined population of 3.08 million.

People in Worcestershire have made 358 calls to NHS Direct Midland Shires. And 112 calls have been made by people in Herefordshire.

The top five queries from callers have been on the subjects of headaches, fever, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and toddlers suffering fevers.

The nurses who work in NHS Direct are highly experienced, trained professionals who work within strict clinical guidelines.

Each time a caller contacts the service a full record of that contact is kept so that if they call again those records will be available.

NHS Direct aims to help people make the right choice about the level of service they require.

In June alone, more than 600 callers were transferred from the helpline to the 999 ambulance service.

Main asset

"NHS Direct is an example of what can be achieve when we begin to modernise the face of the NHS," said Liz Gallagher, general manager of NHS Direct Midland Shires.

"The nursing staff here at NHS Midland Shires are our main asset. They complement each other's skills by drawing upon their own extensive experiences."

The Midlands phone line employs 42 full-time-equivalent nurse advisers at F Grade and six team leaders at G grade.

The helpline number is 0845 4647.