A new website is being launched in an attempt to strengthen patient choice. The £3.6m NHS Choices website will include information on issues as varied as waiting times, hospital ratings and general cleanliness. It is aimed at helping patients choose where they want to be treated when they need non-emergency surgery.
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said, “We know patients and the public are thirsty about getting information on health. One of the problems with the internet is that some of the information about health is top quality and some of it is rubbish. What NHS Choices will do is give the public access to the best information about health.”