CALLS to NHS Direct, the 24-hour health advice telephone line, have trebled in its first year in Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire.

The service began locally in November 2000. It started off receiving 175 calls a day in the first month but now receives 600 calls a day.

The most common queries have been about headaches and abdominal pain, such as stomach aches.

The most unusual question has been to do with pain in a caller's salivary gland.

The service is confidential and is operated by nurses.

Callers are given advice and information about illness and health in general.

The service does not diagnose a condition but directs callers on to the most appropriate level of care, ranging from staying at home and alleviating the symptoms yourself to visiting your GP or going to hospital.

John Dale, general manager at NHS Direct Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, said: "The sheer volume of calls seems to suggest that the public likes us and this has been backed up by surveys we've undertaken as well as those by external organisations.

"This is a completely new NHS service which means that you contact a nurse 24 hours a day and receive fast advice and reassurance on the best way to tackle a health problem."

The service has been designed to take pressure off other front line services in the NHS.

About 40 per cent of callers to NHS Direct who say they would have made a routine visit to their GP are given advice on how to treat themselves. Two per cent of callers were emergency cases and they were connected to an ambulance control centre.

The service also provides a reference point for health information services. Callers can find out local pharmacy opening times as well as where their nearest NHS dentist is plus information on local support groups.

The NHS Direct website has been relaunched and includes a new health encyclopaedia containing more than 400 topics covering illnesses and conditions, tests, treatments and operations.

It also has a new interactive website service that allows people to e-mail health information enquiries anonymously, with an answer sent back within five working days.

Mr Dale said: "The service is particularly keen to target those people who traditionally delay visiting their family doctor and risk exacerbating a condition, either through embarrassment or because of a perceived reluctance to 'bother' a busy doctor.

"Callers can remain anonymous and we also run a language line that gives swift access to a confidential interpretation service if your first language is not English."

Call NHS Direct on 0845 4647 or visit the website at www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk