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" NHS Direct is to cut nearly 800 jobs as it closes 12 call centres across England in an attempt to cut spiralling costs.  The service, which provides Nurse-led medical advice over the phone or through the internet, is looking to save \u00A315 million with the plans, which will also see the expansion of other call centres, with some staff moving over from those being closed.  Staff are to be consulted on the proposed restructuring programme before any changes go ahead, but unions have already expressed their dissatisfaction with the measures, describing them as &amp;quot;short-sighted&amp;quot;.  NHS Direct chairman David Edmonds said: &amp;quot;NHS Direct has a key role to play in helping to transform healthcare in this country.  &amp;quot;But like all parts of the NHS, we must ensure that we can deliver a service which offers excellent clinical quality for patients and value for money for out commissioners and taxpayers.&amp;quot;  He added that the job cuts would not affect the level of patient care, and also denied that jobs were being outsourced abroad as a cost-cutting measure.  NHS Direct was set up in 1997 to take calls on medical matters that don&amp;#039;t require visiting a doctor.  Since then the service has proved popular with the public, receiving 25,000 calls a day.  \u00A9 Adfero Ltd "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health-services/news/a13714/nhs-direct-faces-job-cuts/>