NHS Obscure

Is this Britain’s worst web site? No. That would be an exaggeration. NHS Direct Online could be Britain’s least useful web site, though.

Trying to find out what the normal temperature range for a two year-old is, I search for a lot of different terms with no luck. Searching for ‘temperature child’ brings me 461 results, the first 55 of which are the same entry (about vomiting) repeated over and over again. The FAQ section, which sounds promising, is risible. The section labelled ‘First Aid’ contains one question (‘what should I keep in a first aid kit?’). The section on Ambulances, one question (‘when should I call an ambulance?’). I could go on… The telephone service is good. We’ve used it lots of times when the kids have been ill. It’s dreadful that it’s let down so badly by the web site, especially when the site could really lift the load for the qualified nurses who staff the phone line by handling routine enquiries like ‘what’s the normal temperature range for a two year-old?’. By the way, what is the normal temperature range for a two year-old?