Pictured above: Peter Maskell
A 24-hour GP helpline for the majority of the 400,000 people
covered by health insurance from BHSF, is being launched in
December.
From December 1 the service will allow those with most of BHSF's
cash plan policies to reach a fully qualified GP at the end of a
phone line 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.
The service has been trialled with employer-sponsored products
and was so successful the company moved to have the service widely
available as quickly as possible.
Peter Maskell, BHSF chief executive and the man behind expanding
the scheme, said: "The Government's announcement that the NHS
Direct was to be terminated, made us step up our plans for such a
service for our customers.
"We have had testimonials from employees who have used the
service as many as four times in a year and are full of praise for
it. Typical was one from an employee who said that unless he needed
to see a GP in person he would use the facility every time".
The move from BHSF, which will celebrate its 140th year in 2013,
is just one in a series of innovations introduced in the past year
aimed at improving the service to both corporate and individual
customers.