This patient choice system is called "Choose & Book" and details of how this system works will be given to you in a leaflet "It's your Choice" along with the reference details you will need for your referral. Not every speciality is covered by Choose & Book, but most of them are.

Most of the patients who are offered a choice of hospital view the experience as positive and valuable. So, the NHS is changing to give you more choice and flexibility in how you are treated. Choose and Book is one of the first schemes that brings about this change, allowing you to choose the hospital where you will be seen by a specialist.

If the Doctor or Nurse Practitioner should decide to refer you to hospital to see a specialist, in most instances you will be asked to come in to the surgery after three working days to collect the paperwork you will need in order to make your appointment yourself. The Doctor or nurse Practitioner will have offered you a choice of which hospital you would like to go to, including our local hospitals in the Torbay area, and you can then choose a date & time which is most suitable to you.

The benefits of Choose and Book:

• You can choose from at least four hospitals
• You can also choose the date and time for your appointment.
• You experience greater convenience and certainty. With the old system, your hospital or clinic chose the date and time of your appointment. This may not have been convenient for you. With Choose and Book, the choice is yours.
• There is less chance that information will get lost in the post because more correspondence takes place through computers.

If you require further information please visit the NHS Choose and Book website by clicking on the following link: http://www.chooseandbook.nhs.uk/patients