Anderson R
Department of Oral Surgery, Medicine and Pathology, University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff.
Br Dent J. 1999 Dec 25;187(12):634-6. doi: 10.1038/sj.bdj.4800354.
NHS Direct - the nurse-led 24-hour telephone helpline - is the flagship initiative of the 'New NHS'. The scheme is already available to over 19 million people, and is planned to serve 60% of England by the end of 1999 and the whole of the country by the end of 2000. It is intended to revolutionise how and when people access the NHS, particularly out-of-hours. The present government has recently also signalled that NHS Direct should play a key role in rebuilding accessibility to NHS dentistry. Yet many dentists are unaware of its existence, and within the profession there has been little debate regarding its actual or likely future impact on how people access dental care. This article briefly describes the concept and early experiences of NHS Direct, and speculates about its potential impact on how people access dental care.
国民保健署直拨热线——由护士提供服务的24小时电话求助热线——是“新国民保健署”的旗舰项目。该计划已经覆盖了超过1900万人，计划到1999年底服务英格兰60%的人口，到2000年底服务全国人口。其目的是彻底改变人们获得国民保健服务的方式和时间，尤其是非工作时间。现政府最近还表示，国民保健署直拨热线应在重建国民保健牙科服务的可及性方面发挥关键作用。然而，许多牙医并不知道它的存在，在该行业内，对于它对人们获得牙科护理的实际或可能的未来影响，几乎没有进行过讨论。本文简要介绍了国民保健署直拨热线的概念和早期经验，并推测了其对人们获得牙科护理方式的潜在影响。
