Nurses to give advice via television
People could soon be getting medical advice from nurses through their televisions without the need for a doctor's appointment.
In a pilot scheme to be tried in 50,000 homes in Birmingham in England, people will be able to get medical help 24 hours a day.
The service will be available through the Living Health channel which is funded by the UK's National Health Service but participants will need Digital TVs with interactive services.
When a viewer needs to get advice, the TV computer system will ask them to call the NHS Direct main telephone number where the switchboard will allocate a nurse.
The nurse's image will then appear on the caller's TV screen. The nurse will be unable to see the caller.
The scheme is an extension of NHS Direct which was launched last year and which allows people to get medical advice over the telephone and internet.
Officials are said to be negotiating a £3.8m deal with cable company Telewest, to deliver the service.
The pilot scheme is due to be launched in May and NHS chiefs hope it will be available nationally in a few years, if the pilot scheme is successful.
