The findings of the most recent DoH patient surveys, released yesterday, showed that the number of patients being offered choice in England had remained broadly flat.
Provisional results for the September survey showed that 46% of patients recalled being offered a choice of hospital for their first outpatient appointment. That figure is unchanged from the July survey, and up just 1% from the previous May's results.
John Cridland, deputy director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said that all patients should be given choice to encourage providers to ‘up their game’. ‘The take-it-or-leave-it model of NHS treatment belongs to the past,’ he said. ‘Today’s health service needs to focus relentlessly on the needs of its patients, not its staff or structures.’
He added that the fact that fewer than 50% of patients can recall being offered a choice meant that ‘GPs have more work to do’.
jonn.elledge@haymarket.com
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CBI urges GPs to 'do more work' to encourage choice
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