Central Booking Service (CBS)
A central booking service is, as it implies, a centrally based call centre for booking of abortion and related sexual health services.
At bpas, we provide impartial telephone management services for several PCTs.
The benefit of bpas managing your booking system means that stress is minimised and time is saved, with the reassurance of a human voice at the other end of the line.
The benefit for the commissioner is that it helps achieve national targets and reduce waiting times.
bpas contact centre
bpas established a helpline in 1994, which has evolved into the service now known as Actionline, based in Birmingham. The core function of Actionline is to act as the initial point of contact for referrers and clients, making initial appointments for consultation and ensuring funding arrangements are in place for those referrals that will be NHS-funded (currently over 85% of bpas caseload). The vast majority of referrals are for women faced with an unplanned pregnancy, who may be considering abortion. In addition, appointments are also made for vasectomy, female sterilisation and emergency contraception. The dedicated post-operative helpline is also routed through Actionline during the day.
Actionline currently handles over 6,000 calls each week.
In the mid-1990s, bpas started providing dedicated Central Booking Services (CBS) for Ealing, Hammersmith & Hounslow and Merton, Sutton & Wandsworth Health Authorities. In 1998 these were successfully transferred to Actionline to further improve response, quality and call monitoring capabilities. These CBS’ have continued to be provided to the successor PCT consortiums following the dissolution of the Health Authorities. In the last five years several other CBS’ have been contracted to bpas. Some have a dedicated telephone number and are specifically branded, others are ’bolted’ on to the main Actionline system.
The common key feature of all these CBS’ is that they make appointments on behalf of a range of providers – both NHS and independent sector. This involves working closely with providers to maintain appointment templates and to cascade appointment schedules back to providers on a daily basis. The CBS sends out provider-specific information to clients.
It is this experience and expertise that places bpas in an ideal position to provide a CBS for PCTs.
