Health Minister Lord Warner has announced that over one million referrals to specialist care have been made through Choose and Book by GPs across England.

Choose and Book is a national service that, for the first time, combines electronic booking and a choice of place, date and time for first outpatient appointments. It revolutionises the previous booking system, with patients being able to choose and book their initial hospital appointment. Patients are able to book an appointment on the spot in the surgery, later on the phone or via the internet.

This achievement marks a significant milestone for healthcare. Patients no longer have to put their life on hold while they wait to hear back from a hospital when their appointment will be, and have been able to book their appointment at their convenience. This number will grow over the coming months as use of Choose and Book continues to increase.

Health Minister Lord Warner said:

"A million bookings since introduction in 2004 is a real milestone. And we are well on the way now to 2 million. When patients book their appointments electronically they are more likely to keep the appointment. That's good for patients, cuts waste in hospitals, and reduces frustration for Doctors and Nurses.

"85% of all GP practices are now using Choose and Book to make referrals and over 6,000 practices made referrals last week - nearly 30% of GP referrals to specialist care.

"We are now working closely with GPs, Primary Care Trusts and Hospitals so that 100% of GPs are using Choose and Book. That's the milestone we now need to focus on for the benefit of patients."

Today, 85 per cent of all GP practices in England are using Choose and Book to make their referrals - with over 6,000 practices making referrals last week. This number is growing weekly and currently represents 28 per cent of NHS referral activity from GP surgery to specialist care.

Patients have responded positively to the Choose and Book service. One of the first patients to benefit from using Choose and Book was Denis Gray, from South London:

"This new way of doing things is so much better. Choose and Book really made a difference to me. It speeded up my treatment and let me choose a hospital and book an appointment at a time that suited me."

Choose and Book is being delivered by NHS Connecting for Health, an agency of the Department of Health. The agency is responsible for the National Programme for IT and its role is to deliver new, linked IT systems and services to help modernise the NHS and make sure that care is centred around the patient.

As is normal with any major introduction of new IT systems, NHS Connecting for Health continues to incorporate user feedback in the development of new Choose and Book software to ensure that Choose and Book continues to respond to the needs and wishes of the NHS and patients.



Notes:

1. The one millionth referral represents one million clinical referrals that have been made by GPs and their support staff through Choose and Book for the convenience of the patient.

2. Almost 1.5 million bookings have been made using Choose and Book. This figure represents booked appointments and is greater than the number of total referrals because patients have the opportunity to change or re-arrange their booked appointment once the referral has been made. Bookings can be made directly at the GP practice, or by the patient calling the Choose and Book Appointments Line or a local booking line, or over the internet.

3. Over the next ten years, the National Programme for IT will connect over 30,000 GPs in England to almost 300 hospitals and give patients access to their personal health and care information, transforming the way the NHS works.

For further information please go to:
UK Department of Health