Disruption to phone lines at hospital as new system is installed

Patients of Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Goole hospitals are being warned of potential disruption to the phone lines on Wednesday March 1.
New Year pharmacy times.New Year pharmacy times.
New Year pharmacy times.

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust is installing a new telephone system which will bring new ways for staff to communicate and see the Trust move over to non-geographical numbers.

All internal extension numbers are being re-numbered as part of the upgrade.

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On March 1 the new system goes live at 8am with potential disruption to phone lines for several hours as the telephone lines are transferred over.

People are encouraged to use the hospital switchboard numbers instead of dialing direct line numbers they hold for specific departments. These are as follows:

· Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital – 01472 874111

· Scunthorpe General Hospital – 01724 282282

· Goole and District Hospital – 01405 720720

Steve Mattern, associate director of IM&T services, said: “I would like to request people’s patience during the switchover period and encourage anyone who experiences any difficulty getting through to our hospitals on the day to call the switchboard numbers direct.”

“We are very excited to be moving to a new modern telephone system and looking forward to the benefits and opportunities that this offers the Trust in improving the way that we communicate both internally and externally.”

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“If anyone has a four digit extension number that they regularly contact a member of staff or department on they need to be aware that it won’t work after we move over to the new system.”

“We are in the process of updating all of our patient leaflets, appointment letters and website pages accordingly to reflect the new numbers.”

Staff will be moving from four-digit to six-digit extension numbers, which should not be confused with landline numbers.

Direct dial numbers at the Trust will be replaced with numbers starting 03033. These are charged at local call rate.

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Geographical numbers e.g. those starting 01724/01472/01405 will remain in use for a number of months after the switchover before being phased out (apart from the main switchboard numbers which will remain in service).

As a result of the upgrade the three hospitals will be on one telephone system which will offer more resilience to errors and service failures. It will also give the Trust the opportunity to explore more innovative and flexible ways of working such as hot-desking and using platforms such as Skype for business.

If you need to check the number for a specific department please visit the Trust website at www.nlg.nhs.uk