Nine in ten patients satisfied with GP access
Nearly nine in ten patients are satisfied with their ability to get through to their GP practice on the telephone, according to the latest survey of almost two million patients. The second annual GP Patient Access Survey shows that 87% of people surveyed reported being happy with telephone access to their GP practice, up slightly […]
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BMA rejects call to ‘abandon’ Choose and Book
The BMA has rejected demands to abandon Choose and Book if it cannot be made fit for purpose within a year. BMA Council chairman and Yorkshire GP Dr Hamish Meldrum told the association’s annual meeting that it would be “madness” to adopt such a stance. The meeting backed a motion from Redbridge and Stratford division […]
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Connecting for Health to take over NHS Choices
NHS Connecting for Health is to take over responsibility for the NHS Choices portal, the government’s national patient portal for delivering patient choice and health information services. Following the transfer, NHS Choices will become the point of access for HealthSpace, the online organiser used to give people access to their NHS Summary Care Record. It […]
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Choose and Book bill reaches £100m
The government’s e-booking service Choose and Book has cost almost £100m so far, the Department of Health has revealed. In an answer to a parliamentary question health minister Ben Bradshaw said that total costs to date for the development, delivery and maintenance of the Choose and Book IT system total £98.9m. The health minister said […]
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Use of Choose and Book hits 50 percent
The online NHS patient appointment booking service Choose and Book is being used for about 50% of referrals according to Connecting for Health. This marks a significant milestone in the use of the e-booking service, which has now been used for more than six million referrals. All the more impressive given that just over a […]
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Hospitals block appointments with C+B
Hospitals are using Choose and Book to block patients making appointments so they can meet their waiting time targets, according to GP representatives. Avon Local Medical Committee (LMC) claims local hospitals are refusing to give patients appointments when they ring up with a Unique Booking Reference Number (UBRN) if the appointment would exceed hospital waiting […]
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Countdown to the 18 week wait
By December 2008 all non-urgent NHS patients should start their hospital treatment within 18 weeks of referral, a major challenge with IT at the heart of providing the solutions.
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C+B incentives to go to extended access
GP incentive payments for Choose and Book will be redirected to pay for extended access to GP practices from April next year under controversial proposals put forward by the Department of Health. In a letter to the BMA’s General Practitioner Committee the DH has told GP representatives that it will impose changes to the GP […]
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PCTs to lead on NHS IMandT development
The NHS operating framework for 2008-2009 says that in the coming year local NHS organisations will be expected to build on the National Programme for IT local ownership programme (NLOP) with PCTs required to “further develop their leadership role”. It states that during the course of the current year “the transfer of resources from central […]
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DH offers guidance on GP patient survey
The Department of Health has issued guidance to GP practices on how its £10m survey on GP patient access and choice at referral will work next month. GPs will be paid 2.8p per registered patient for handing out choice surveys between January and March and will also be able to send choice questionnaires to patients […]
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