NHS: Patients' Choice

House of Lords written question – answered at on 25 February 2009.

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Photo of Lord Clement-Jones Lord Clement-Jones Spokesperson for Culture, Media and Sport

To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they are giving to primary care trusts regarding patients' right of choice under Choose and Book and confirming the right of general practitioners to refer patients (a) to the NHS hospital of their choice, and (b) for NHS complementary medicine treatment.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that primary care trusts are not restricting the choice of general practitioner and patients' choice under Choose and Book.

Photo of Lord Darzi of Denham Lord Darzi of Denham Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Health, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health)

The NHS constitution includes a new right to make choices about your National Health Service care. The options available will develop over time and depend on your individual needs. From 1 April 2009, patients will have the right to choose in which trust they have treatment, when they are referred for their first out-patient appointment with a service led by consultants.

New legally binding directions from the Secretary of State to primary care trusts (PCTs) support this new right. The department issued guidance, Implementation of the Right to Choice and Information set out in the NHS Constitution, on 21 January for PCTs to help them with the implementation of the right. The guidance explains what their new duties are and sets out some of the levers for implementing the new duties. The guidance does not refer to Choose and Book.

Choose and Book is an enabler that supports choice and is not a constraint on how the NHS manages patient care. It is simply a tool that makes transparent the services available to support general practitioners and patients with choice and booking. Providers and PCTs agree decisions about how services are organised locally and how they are displayed on Choose and Book.

The Government do not maintain a position on any complementary or alternative medicine treatments and it is the responsibility of the NHS to make decisions on what types of services or treatments they will commission and fund.

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