Drugsline Charity goes for hosted VoIP service

Wednesday, 11 July 2007 00:00

Voicenet Solutions provides hosted VoIP to Drugsline

New Office opened by HRH Earl of Wessex

Drugsline, the charity that offers help and support to people who are affected by drug addiction, has installed a Voicenet Solutions hosted VoIP telephone system in new offices which were formally opened by HRH The Earl of Wessex last week.

The system, which was supplied by Voicenet Solutions accredited dealer Morgan Brookes, will be used by a Drugsline’s School’s Outreach team and up to 24 crisis line volunteers who offer support and counselling.

After touring the new extension with Rabbi Sufrin, Executive Director of Drugsline, The Earl officially unveiled the plaque for the new building

“Thank you to everyone for allowing me to hear first hand what you have been doing at Drugsline and sharing with me your ambitious plan for the future. I wish you all the very best of luck.” The Earl of Wessex said:

The building of a new office was obviously an ideal time to install a new telephone system.

“We had an antiquated BT system that really needed to be updated. We thought we could take advantage of our move and install a telephone solution that was not just cost effective, but one that would give us a greater degree of flexibility, help us answer more calls and service our callers that much better.” Said Christina Ball, Operations Director of Drugsline.

The Charity opted for VNconnect from Voicenet Solutions a pure hosted VoIP package which has QoS Broadband and Cisco phones.

“More and more charities are leading the way in adopting new technology, such as VoIP to help save money and increase efficiency. We are proud to have Drugsline as a customer. However I think it is the first time a member of the Royal family has opened an office that we have installed a VoIP solution in, but hopefully it is not the last.” Said David Crombie, CEO Voicenet Solutions.

Cost savings, though obviously important to any business, especially charities, are not the only to opt for hosted VoIP. Drugsline offer an advice and information service to the public and due to the nature of the calls that come through, having a reliable telephone system is an absolute necessity.

“Since adopting the hosted VoIP system the benefits are obvious. We’ve been able to double our working hours, answer more calls and therefore most importantly offer advice to more people who call us” Said Christina Ball

“We rely on the help of volunteers to work non-fixed hours at Drugsline. The new phone system means everyone can now more readily work from home and we can ’hot-desk’ the phones. Taking calls has proven to be so much easier and enables us to offer an even better service.”

“I haven’t actually used everything the new system offers yet, but so far the hunt group feature has been extremely important, it means we don’t miss calls as they can be taken anywhere in the office. Furthermore messages are handled more efficiently out of hours and therefore many more people can be re-contacted.” Added Christina Ball.

For Drugsline help and advice call: 0808 1 606 606

www.drugsline.org

Notes to Editors

Drugsline provides a comprehensive range of drugs and alcohol support. Its services include a crisis line run by fully trained volunteers, a school's outreach education programme (this academic year the team will have seen 30,000 pupils) and a drop-in centre for crisis support, professional counselling and educational advice.

Drugsline is recognised as a Drugs Prevention Service by The London Borough of Redbridge Health Authority and the Waltham Forest Primary Care Trust. It is also an active member of the local DAAT (Drug and Alcohol Action Team).

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