An awareness campaign to inform people of their healthcare choices has been launched this week by the NHS.
NHS Sheffield is hosting an NHS Choice roadshow which began on Monday and is being held throughout the week at different locations around the city. The campaign will cover twenty four primary care trust areas over the next eight weeks, with three teams covering the South, South West and North of the country.
Alan Smith, an adviser who hosted an NHS Choice stand at Sheffield City Library on Wednesday said: “Our aim is to make people more aware of their healthcare rights. Some people may already be aware of some of the choices available as they have been advertised in GP surgeries and on television, but we want everybody to know exactly what is available to them.”
The campaign hopes to inform people of the healthcare options available that they may not have been aware of. These options include, patients having the right to choose any hospital in England to have treatment, and receiving non-emergency treatment within 18 weeks of being seen by the GP. Also, through the NHS Choice website, patients are able to compare hospital infection rates, services and read comments from other patients, as well as find local GP surgeries and other NHS services. Other services include local community support for long term illnesses such as diabetes and asthma and longer opening hours for doctors surgeries and pharmacies.
In addition, a new “Choose and Book” computer system will allow patients, together with their GP, to decide which hospital they will go to for treatment. It allows patients to book appointments online and provides a greater choice of dates and times, allowing the patient more freedom.
It is hoped that these new measures will see hospitals improve their services. Alan Smith said: “The fact that people now have more choice when it comes to their healthcare will force hospitals to effectively compete against each other to attract service users. Hospitals will ’up their game’ to make themselves more appealing to patients and visitors and will be driven to improve their services. So far, the response from the public has been very positive.”
For more information about NHS services, call 08454647 or visit http://www.nhs.uk/.
By Lucy Owen
NHS Sheffield is hosting an NHS Choice roadshow which began on Monday and is being held throughout the week at different locations around the city. The campaign will cover twenty four primary care trust areas over the next eight weeks, with three teams covering the South, South West and North of the country.
Alan Smith, an adviser who hosted an NHS Choice stand at Sheffield City Library on Wednesday said: “Our aim is to make people more aware of their healthcare rights. Some people may already be aware of some of the choices available as they have been advertised in GP surgeries and on television, but we want everybody to know exactly what is available to them.”
The campaign hopes to inform people of the healthcare options available that they may not have been aware of. These options include, patients having the right to choose any hospital in England to have treatment, and receiving non-emergency treatment within 18 weeks of being seen by the GP. Also, through the NHS Choice website, patients are able to compare hospital infection rates, services and read comments from other patients, as well as find local GP surgeries and other NHS services. Other services include local community support for long term illnesses such as diabetes and asthma and longer opening hours for doctors surgeries and pharmacies.
In addition, a new “Choose and Book” computer system will allow patients, together with their GP, to decide which hospital they will go to for treatment. It allows patients to book appointments online and provides a greater choice of dates and times, allowing the patient more freedom.
It is hoped that these new measures will see hospitals improve their services. Alan Smith said: “The fact that people now have more choice when it comes to their healthcare will force hospitals to effectively compete against each other to attract service users. Hospitals will ’up their game’ to make themselves more appealing to patients and visitors and will be driven to improve their services. So far, the response from the public has been very positive.”
For more information about NHS services, call 08454647 or visit http://www.nhs.uk/.
The Six NHS Choices: |
By Lucy Owen
0 comments:
Post a Comment