Features - Choose and Book

Choose and Book is a new service that allows you to choose your hospital or clinic and book an appointment with a specialist. Since summer 2004, Choose and Book has been introduced across England. It will eventually be available to all patients. From 1 January 2006, when you and your GP agree that you need to see a specialist, you will be able to choose from at least four hospitals or clinics. You will also be able to choose the date and time of your appointment.

Research has shown that patients want to be more involved in making decisions and choosing their healthcare. Most of the patients who are offered a choice of hospital view the experience as positive and valuable.

So, the NHS is changing to give you more choice and flexibility in how you are treated. Choose and Book is one of the first schemes that brings about this change, allowing you to choose the hospital where you will be seen by a specialist.

From 1 January 2006, when you and your GP agree that you need to see a specialist, you will be able to choose from at least four hospitals or clinics. You will also be able to choose the date and time of your appointment.

The Benefits:

;•You can choose from at least four hospitals.

;•You can also choose the date and time for your appointment.

;•You experience greater convenience and certainty. With the old system,  your hospital or clinic chose the date and time of your appointment. This  may not have been convenient for you. With Choose and Book, the  choice is yours.

;•There is less chance that information will get lost in the post because  more correspondence takes place through computers.

How it works:

When you and your GP agree that you need an appointment with a specialist, Choose and Book shows your GP which hospitals or clinics are available for your treatment.

Your GP discusses with you the appropriate options which are available for treating your medical condition.

If you know where and when you would like to be seen, you may be able to book your appointment before you leave the surgery. You will be given confirmation of the place, date and time of your appointment.

You may want more time to consider your choices. If so, you can take an appointment request letter away with you and book your appointment later.

Information to support your choice:

The NHS provides information on each of the hospitals or clinics on your list so that you can decide which one you would like to use.

This information includes local transport details and whether or not the hospital provides services such as car parking, disabled access, a visitor canteen and shops.

There are also star ratings or performance standards – these are based on the information collected to show how health services are doing in relation to some of the main targets set by the Government for the NHS as well as other broader measures of performance. They include information from surveys of patients and staff, and other measures useful to patients and carers.

Further information about the different hospitals:

The NHS website at www.nhs.uk provides information on local NHS services – for example, service performance, the facilities they offer, waiting times etc, and national information about what the NHS does. You can also request information to be provided in a number of different of formats – for example, Braille or large print.

Page Created: 4 November 2005