Patients having non-emergency treatment in England will be able to choose from any hospital in the country as of 1 April, the Department of Health has announced.
From the beginning of April any patient receiving routine elective treatment will be able to choose from any NHS approved hospital provider in England, under a new system called ‘Free Choice’.
In a statement the DH said: “Free Choice makes it increasingly important for providers to have a good understanding of the needs and wants of patients and GPs. Empowered patients are more likely to take greater responsibility for their care and treatment and have a better experience of it.
“With more hospitals and clinics to choose from, providers may also wish to make more information about their services available to patients in order to help them make these choices.”
Under ‘Free Choice’, money will follow the patient and hospitals are paid a tariff rate for each person treated. The DH says this will be a strong incentive to provide good quality services and promote them to patients and GPs appropriately.
Minister for health services Ben Bradshaw, added: “Choice is fundamental to the delivery of a personalised NHS. People would like to have more control and be more involved in the decisions about their illness and treatment. More choice will also help drive up quality and standards across the NHS.”
Patients are currently offered a choice of around five local hospitals and a range of independent sector treatments centres and private hospitals on an approved list that offer operations at NHS cost.
One patient, Jack Lester, said: “Choice was important for my wife and I as it meant we had an option on local hospitals. We were able to choose the one which could see us soonest and was still close to home. The standards of treatment and attention were very high, gave us peace of mind and made a real difference.”
In a bid to aid patients exercise their right to ‘Free Choice’, NHS Trusts and organisations providing health care funded by the NHS, will be able to promote their services to patients for the first time.
The DH says: “Patients and their GPs will need reliable, accurate information on which to make choices for their health care needs and promotional activity will help to make this information easily available – along with other sources – such as the NHS Choices website and information in libraries and GP surgeries.”
Advertising and promotional activity will be regulated by a new code of practice, which seeks to achieve a balance between the needs of patients, health professionals and the public.
A series of NHS branded advertisements will also run in regional newspapers and regional radio, designed to raise awareness of choice and to help patients make informed decisions about their choice of provider.
Anthony Halperin, of the Patients Association, welcomed the plans, but added: “In theory it sounds good, but in truth patients just want to go to their nearest hospital. They often do not have time or the inclination to compare hospitals and consultants and travel constraints mean if they wanted to it is not always possible.”
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Joe Fernandez