NHS Direct complaints rise by 50%

Complaints about helpline NHS Direct have risen by 50% since the end of 2006 as it struggles to answer calls and offer speedy advice, figures reported by the BBC show.

In March the 24-hour health helpline had 1.89 complaints for every 10,000 calls - over twice the target level - after four successive monthly rises.

Hundreds of posts were lost and 12 of its 50 centres closed last year as the service tried to make cuts as part of the NHS-wide push for savings.

The service was set up in 1997 to help give advice to people on how to deal with symptoms and to direct them to the correct place in the event of an emergency.