Delivery of NURSE-ON-CALL
Overview
The NURSE-ON-CALL service (NOC) was established in June 2006 with funding of $8.5 million per annum for three years. NOC cost $9.9 million in 2009–10.
NOC is a 24-hour, seven-day a week telephone health information and advice service. Registered nurses follow automated clinical guidelines that direct them through a series of questions to determine the severity of the caller’s condition and the recommended response. The Department of Health (DH) contracted delivery of the NOC service to a service provider which supplies the staffing, recruitment and training, and software.
The audit concluded that, overall, NOC is a safe and cost-effective service. However, there is scope to improve the quality of advice given, timeliness of the service and usage by all sections of the community. There is also scope for DH to achieve better value-for-money from the contract by strengthening the contract terms and through more active contract management.
The end of the contract in March 2011 is an opportunity for DH to rigorously assess the current service provider’s performance, as part of a wider review to confirm the ongoing need for, and design of the service.