21 March 2008
Doctors and patients have cast doubts on the value of the government's extended Patient Choice scheme as ministers did their best to advertise its virtues in advance of an April 1 roll-out.
From that date, patients having non-emergency NHS treatment will be able to choose from any hospital in England. But patients' groups and hospital doctors were quick to point out potential flaws.
Patients Association chair Anthony Halperin said: 'In theory it sounds good, but in truth patients just want to go to their nearest hospital. They often do not have the time or the inclination to compare hospitals and consultants, and travel constraints mean if they wanted to, it is not always possible.'
The chair of the British Medical Association's consultants committee, Dr Jonathan Fielden, said he was worried that crucial emergency services could be threatened because some patients would not choose certain providers.
'I am also worried that it will be difficult for patients to make informed choices. We still have a long way to go in collecting and having access to accurate, reliable and meaningful data that enables patients, working with their doctors, to make full knowledgeable choices about their treatment,' he said.
At the moment, patients are offered a choice of five local hospitals, one of which must be an independent sector treatment centre or a private hospital that offers services to NHS patients.
Under the expanded choice programme, hospitals will for the first time be allowed to advertise their services under a prescribed code of conduct.
The Department of Health will also spend more than £600,000 advertising the roll-out of choice in regional newspapers, on radio and in information sent to GP surgeries.
However, at a briefing on the policy on March 19, health minister Ben Bradshaw admitted there had been reluctance among GPs to advise patients of the scheme.
'The best way of making sure GPs offer choice is by making sure the public know that they have got a choice and I would urge the public to exercise that choice,' he said.
Advertising that promotes local hospitals and independent sector treatment centres will be governed by the Advertising Standards Authority rather than the new Care Quality Commission and providers will be able to spend as much as they like on advertising.
PFmar2008
