The government has published an ‘Elective Care Plan’ that commits to giving NHS patients the right to choose from a ‘shortlist’ of local hospitals, including private hospitals paid for by the NHS.
This means that patients will be able to choose to be treated at Sarum Road Hospital in Winchester, which is run by the independent sector.
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The Elective Care Plan is set to change the way patients are referred for treatment (Image: Ben Pipe Photography) Martin Page, the executive director of Sarum Road Hospital, said: “This step will give hope to so many families who are worried about long waits when they need vital treatment.
“Very often there are NHS appointments going spare at local private hospitals, and patients don’t realise or aren’t told they have the right to see the waiting times and results data at all local hospitals, and then to make an informed choice about where to have their operation.”
The new health secretary, Wes Streeting, has committed to offering patients a choice of five hospitals at the point of referral.
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He said: “Then they can decide what the most important factors are: do they want to go a bit further away and be seen a bit faster, or would they like to wait because it’s local and more convenient, or would they like to go to the hospital with the best reputation for treating their condition.”
Mr Page added: “Sarum Road Hospital has an outstanding reputation locally for patient experience and clinical results, with a team of the county’s leading consultants practising here, and we stand ready to assist in giving NHS patients in Winchester as many options as possible.”
The Elective Care Plan is set to change the way patients are referred for treatment.
Previously, while the NHS Constitution committed to offering patients choice over their care, in practice, GPs tended to refer patients to the local NHS hospital automatically.
This left many patients facing long waiting times.
The new plan aims to give patients more control over their treatment by allowing them to choose from a shortlist of hospitals at the point of referral.