Paragraph 3 Cost of relevant calls

The contractor must not enter into, renew or extend a contract or other arrangement for telephone services unless it is satisfied that, having regard to the arrangement as a whole, persons will not have to pay more to make relevant calls to the contractor's practice than they would to make equivalent calls to a geographical number.

Where it has not been possible for the contractor to take reasonable steps to ensure that persons will not pay more to make relevant calls to the contractor's practice than they would to make equivalent calls to a geographical number, the contractor must consider introducing a system under which, if a caller asks to be called back, the contractor will do so at the contractor's own expense.

In this paragraph—

• “geographical number” means a number which has a geographical area code as its prefix; and

• “relevant calls” means—

  1. (a)

     calls made by patients to the contractor's practice for any reason related to services provided under the contract; and

  2. (b)

     calls made by persons, other than patients, to the contractor's practice in relation to services provided as part of the health service.