Call capacity is to be increased

Currently, NHS Direct deals with half a million calls a month.

Callers with medical enquiries can speak to a nurse, and in some parts of the country it can organise access to family doctors at nights and weekends.

It hopes that the service will free up capacity in other overstretched parts of the NHS.

As much as �182m will be spent on it by 2006 to provide more capacity.

Expanding service

Health Minister John Hutton said: "NHS Direct is helping to save lives in the most serious situations as well as reassuring people with more minor conditions.

"We are now determined to build on its success and expand the quality and quantity of NHS Direct services."

NHS Direct, it is expected, will take on responsibility for "low priority" 999 ambulance calls from 2005.

NHS Direct Online - one of the biggest health advice websites - is to be further extended.

It will give people the ability to store securely key health information on the site.

An NHS Direct digital TV system is already under trial.

The government is progressing with plans to make NHS Direct a devolved organisation funded by primary care trust in the local area from next year.

However, Shadow Health Minister Chris Grayling MP said:

"It is far from clear that NHS Direct is actually helping to ease the burden on GPs and emergency services.

"Most GPs are grappling with an increasing workload as a result of Government bureaucracy. They are seeing little benefits from such Government initiatives.