Patients get four choices for NHS treatments

Editor—UK general practitioners have no contractual obligation to offer patients a choice of provider.¹ My practice calculated that with some 50 elective referrals to hospital each week we would need to spend nearly £4500 this year for additional staff time to implement the service (patient population 6400). If we do receive the £0.95 per patient as payment for implementing the whole “Connecting 4 Health” package of which choose and book is but a part, my practice may achieve a net profit before tax of nearly £1500.

This is meagre compensation for the three partners, who must devote additional time and effort to assist staff to implement choose and book for our patients, although evidence of the clinical benefit for my patients is lacking. The additional time per appointment that may ensue will reduce our overall availability to see patients, thus jeopardising our facility to see everyone within 48 hours. Is this really the way to maintain morale in general practice and support an already overstretched service?