This is a good competitive move by BT. It does however take advantage of the fact that it is often BT itself that receives the extra money that still has to be paid to the telephone company that terminates these "revenue sharing calls" e.g. for calls to NHS Direct.

This makes it relatively easy for BT to offer these calls free to some customers and harder for its landline competitors to follow its example. Much of the so-called "cost" to BT is simply a loss of income that it hopes to make up in other ways.

BT no longer competes in the mobile market, so we cannot expect mobile users to ever benefit in this way. Those who cannot afford the installation charge for a landline suffer the greatest premium charge for these types of calls, often when accessing healthcare, social benefits and other public services.

Furthermore, you cannot have an inclusive call plan if you have to use a payphone to make these calls!

Only 1.4 million of the 14 million residential BT customers said to benefit subscribe to the "Anytime" package. It is only this which will now include free calls to a GP with a 0845 number during normal practice hours.

The Yorkshire and the Humber area has the largest proportion of GPs (14%) using 0845 numbers (155 cases noted). It also has 123 GPs (11%) using the even more expensive 0844 numbers. Calls to 0844 numbers are never free, are always more expensive than local calls, and could never be expected to be added to packages, for various reasons.

Leeds has 27 GPs (18% - the highest proportion in the country) using 0844 numbers, with none using 0845. These include Dr Richard Vautrey of the BMA and Leeds LMC, who is quoted in the EP as welcoming this change by BT as "exactly the way forward".

This comment is odd, as this will do nothing whatsoever to help Dr Vautry's patients. Even if BT made further changes to the way in which one service is paid for by charges for another, with customers always picking up the bill in some way, this would

(I continue, and conclude, the previous truncated message)

This comment from Dr Vautrey is odd, as this change by BT will do nothing any of his patients. Even in the highly unlikely event of BT making further changes to the way in which one service is subsidised by another, with customers always picking up the bill in some way, this would not affect the subsidy that he, and over 1000 other practices around the UK, are deriving from patients in a NHS that should be exclusively "free at the point of need".

It is the scandal of revenue sharing, which allows the Carphone Warehouse telephone service used by Dr Vautrey and other NHS GPs to be paid for by callers and their telephone companies, which must end.

This is what is proposed by the government in its consultation, which must be supported by Beattie, Ms Lipman and all those who believe that the founding principles of the NHS should be retained.

(We may have our individual views of what "-ology" is being practised by Dr Vautrey.)