Complaints as new phone book does not include States numbers
NUMBERS and details for States offices and buildings, including the Princess Elizabeth Hospital, have not been included in the latest edition of Sure’s telephone directory.
The change has come about because the States is now publishing its own directory, but that has meant they are not included in the main Sure book.
Pensioner Viv Lewis, of St Sampson’s, said she and her partner were searching for the number to the hospital and could not find it listed anywhere.
‘Luckily I had an older phone book and found the number there,’ she said.
‘But what happens if your husband gets taken to hospital and you’re only connected to a land-line? How do you find the hospital number if this directory is all you have? A lot of people, especially the elderly, still don’t have iPads and computers.
‘A lot of elderly people only have a land line and a phone book.’
Ms Lewis began searching for the number for the hospital to verify appointment details, but she did not want to call 999 to reach the right department.
‘I think a lot of people would hesitate to call 999 just to reach the hospital, but if you only have this phone book, there are no other numbers for the hospital,’ she said.
Mike Fawkner-Corbett, head of consumer at Sure, said the States of Guernsey chose not to have its numbers included in the directory this year.
‘When the phone book was published in 2021, it coincided with changes to numbers for States of Guernsey services,’ said a States spokesperson.
‘So as to not include outgoing numbers in the printed phone book, which would have been unhelpful to customers, the States took the decision not to include its numbers and to instead provide a dedicated States of Guernsey telephone directory once the new numbers for services were in place.’
The States has not since included its phone numbers in the phone book, ‘conscious that ongoing reforms of the public sector may mean further changes to contact information for some services’.
The States spokesperson said that a dedicated States of Guernsey directory had been distributed to all households back in March 2021.
n Copies can still be collected from Sir Charles Frossard House reception and it is available online at CHttpHandler.ashx.
