FOLLOWING years of controversy and complaints, an expensive 0844 telephone number at a local doctors' surgery was discontinued this week.

After a seven-year contract with the system, The Old Bridge Surgery at East Looe, which has 9,500 patients, reverted back to a standard local number on Wednesday.

The 0844 number paid the surgery a fee from the cost of the call made to them. Practice manager Judy Cole said that would have amounted to around £14,000 over the seven years.

Mrs Cole, who joined the practice six months ago, said that at the time the 0844 number was introduced with the best intentions. It was hoped that the income gained would enable the surgery to offset some of the large telephone bills and enable the introduction of better options for patients.

'Unfortunately it created a furious reaction,' she said. 'Because of this, adjustments were made so that normal landline users calling the surgery were not charged any more than usual, but the stigma remained.

'Our concern has been that we couldn't do anything about the many patients who use mobile phones who have different providers and were really clobbered.

The surgery, which has a patients' group, sent out a questionnaire over the November/December period, with a resounding 100 per cent call for the surgery to have a standard phone line from those who replied.

Mrs Cole said the practice, which also has outlying surgeries at Pelynt and Polperro, will always listen to their patients.

'Our monthly phone bill on average is about £1,500, and the £14,000 made from the old line was offset against these charges,' she said.

The new number at the surgery is 01503 266960.