County among top users of new hospital system (From Dorset Echo)

County among top users of new hospital system

5:00pm Thursday 3rd January 2013 in News

DORSET is leading the way when it comes to people booking their own hospital appointments using a new system.

Choose and Book, the national appointment booking service facilitates more than 120,000 hospital and clinic bookings across Dorset each year and as a result, local patients are among the highest ranked users of the system in the country.

Choose and Book combines electronic booking with a choice of place, date and time for first hospital or clinic appointments. It revolutionises the old booking system, by allowing patients to choose their initial hospital or clinic appointment, and book it on the spot in the surgery or later on the telephone or via the internet.

The right to choose which hospital to go to following a referral from a GP is one of the many rights set out in the NHS Constitution.

The NHS Choose and Book website has a range of tools to help patients make informed decisions on healthcare. These range from scorecards on local hospitals that enable the public to compare factors important to them, to how to use Choose and Book.

The Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is encouraging local people to continue exercising their right to choice within the NHS.

Chairman of the Shadow CCG Board Dr Forbes Watson said: “Whether you want a hospital that is close to home or family, somewhere that you know has a high cleanliness rate, or somewhere with a short waiting list, you can choose. If you are not offered choice, then you have the right to ask for it.” For further information visit chooseandbook.nhs.uk