DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
News Release (2007/0171) issued by The Government News Network on 19
June 2007
Health Secretary
Patricia Hewitt today unveiled a new website, NHS Choices (http://www.nhs.uk), which aims to
personalise healthcare and provide information that will allow
patients to make meaningful choices about when and where to
receive their treatment.
NHS Choices is an information service fit for the 21st century -
a resource that gives patients authoritative medical information
and enables patients and carers to make better, more informed
choices about their health and wellbeing.
The site will provide important benefits for patients, providers
and healthcare commissioners. For example, those patients for whom
waiting time is a critical factor will be able to identify the
most appropriate hospital, while others who may wish to base their
decision on travelling times, or incidence of MRSA, will also have
their preferences met.
Key features of the new site include:
* NHS library: Authoritative information on common conditions and
procedures previously only available to clinicians.
* Compare Hospitals: for the most common procedures that enable
patients to benchmark services and make informed decisions about
where they go for treatment.
* Provider profiles: a space for hospitals to provide
authoritative information on their services to their local communities.
* Your Thoughts: an opportunity for the public to comment on and
rate the quality of the treatment they receive and to allow
providers to reply and identify areas in need of improvement.
* Up to date healthcare information in a range of online
magazines targeted at specific groups such as teenagers and parents.
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said:
"Health advice is the second most popular subject on the
web. Consequently there is a bewildering array of information
online often of varying quality that can be confusing or in the
worst cases dangerous. With the launch of NHS Choices that will
change - patients and providers will now have access to the best,
most reliable information on health.
"NHS Choices puts patients in the driving seat - giving them
access to information not previously available to them so they can
make informed decisions from advice about healthy eating to
identifying the right hospital for their treatment.
"The site will also enable health providers to form
different partnerships with patients. Providers will be able to
communicate directly with the public online and allowing patients
to compare hospitals will encourage clinicians and managers to
improve their performance.
"Over the next few months, we will continue to develop the
site and provide the information that people want and need so that
we have a truly patient-led NHS."
NHS Choices will also enable hospitals to provide more
information to their local communities than is currently the case
on nhs.uk. They will be able to highlight specific services,
facilities, hospital accommodation and initiatives such as their
range of emergency services, and provision of faith-based
counselling services. In addition, specific data on outcomes and
other statistical information will demonstrate the particular
strengths of individual hospitals.
Health providers and commissioners will benefit from the enhanced
awareness of comparative information. Richer data on waiting
times, length of stay and number of patients treated will be
readily available from all hospitals in a specific area.
Comparative information on readmission rates in different
hospitals will also be freely available. This will drive up
efficiency and increase cost competitiveness.
Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, a cardiac surgeon from University
College London and Chair of the NHS Choices Clinical Advisory
Group, said:
"By providing patients with better information you create a
spiral that started with informed healthcare decisions and leads
ultimately to the provision of a better service. I welcome the
publication of clinical performance measures as it is instrumental
to this process.
"This kind of information makes for a better consultation.
As a surgeon, there is nothing more fulfilling than a two-way
consultation with an informed patient who seeks additional detail
to reach a better understanding and decision on their treatment,
whether that leads to surgery or not."
Harry Cayton, National Director of Patients and the Public said:
"The provision of easy-to-use comparative hospital data is
welcomed and in time will switch the balance of power away from
hospitals and towards the people who use them."
Tom Coffey, a South London GP, said:
"Patients are increasingly arriving at my surgery with
information about conditions that they have found through a search
of the internet. This information is often out of date and
invalid. By giving patients access to validated, evidence-based
information that was previously only available to clinicians, GPs
can have a more informed discussion with their patients."
The public will be able to access NHS Choices at hundreds of
pharmacies across the country.
Notes to Editors
1. The NHS Choices website draws on the combined experience and
expertise of NHS.uk, NHS Direct, the National Electronic Library
for Health, and the Healthcare Commission.
2. NHS Choices can be found at http://www.nhs.uk and will be live
from Tuesday 19 June. The site will continue to evolve and
significant extensions are scheduled for later in 2007 and 2008
extending to primary care services.
3. The site will allow patients to access NHS approved
information using a number of features under distinct headings:
Live Well
* Information that will help the well to stay fit and assist
those who are unwell to manage their condition
*
'Magazine' content will reflect the interests and needs
of different groups such as teenagers, families and those over 70
Health A-Z
* Access to a vast library of approved medical
literature, previously only available to clinicians to enable a
deeper understanding of conditions & treatment options
*
Easy to understand multi-media guides on the most common
procedures e.g. hip replacement
* Detailed guides to living
with 20 long-term conditions such as diabetes to help patients
manage their condition. Expert opinions from professionals and
patients will provide advice and support
Choose Services
* Authoritative, comparative data on the
standards and availability of services
* Searchable
comprehensive directories e.g. on hospitals, GPs and care
homes
* A quality scorecard that will help patients and GPs
together to identify the most appropriate clinicians and locations
for their treatment
Your Thoughts
* Patients will be able to directly comment and
feedback on their hospital experience
* All comments will be
pre-moderated and references to named individuals will be
removed
* Hospitals will have the opportunity to respond to
comments about their services
[ENDS]