From the Telegraph; the whole thing.
Patients ignore hospital leagues tables and rely on their own experience or the advice of their family doctor when they choose where to be treated, a new survey suggests.
Despite extensive ratings available on everything from waiting times to the quality of the food, fewer than one in 20 consulted official figures.
Instead, they were much more likely to trust a recommendation from friends or family, the poll also reveals.
A drive by ministers to increase choice in the NHS has led to more and more detailed league tables being published.
These rate the performance of all the NHS trusts in England and award marks for a range of tests including cleanliness and the use of mixed-sex wards to the helpfulness of staff.
They are designed to help patients who can now decide where they would like to be treated using a computerised ‘Choose and Book’ system.
However, the information was ignored by the vast majority of patients, a study by the King’s Fund think tank found.
Just 4 per cent of patients, who were asked to tick as many sources of information as applied, said that they accessed the tables through the official NHS Choices website.
Another six per cent read a leaflet or a book about their choices, while nine per cent asked the adviser on a telephone line while making a booking.
By contrast, 41 per cent relied on their own past experience of the hospital and another 36 per cent asked their GP.
An additional 18 per cent relied on the experience of their friends or family when making the decision.
Another, more general survey by the fund, found that when asked where they heard about information about hospital 56 per cent agreed from personal experience, 52 per cent from friends and family, 50 per cent agreed from the media, and 13 per cent from their GP.
The study asked almost 6,000 patients who had been referred for hospital treatment.
Patients were most concerned about cleanliness and quality, while travel costs and parking were seen only as “somewhat important”.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said that NHS Choices now received seven million hits a month "and is one of the most popular health websites in the world".
So who is telling porkies then, the patients or the pointy heads at the Dept of Half-Arsed Ideas, now let me think.
Angus
Angus Dei on all and sundry
AnglishLit
Angus Dei politico
Patients ignore hospital leagues tables and rely on their own experience or the advice of their family doctor when they choose where to be treated, a new survey suggests.
Despite extensive ratings available on everything from waiting times to the quality of the food, fewer than one in 20 consulted official figures.
Instead, they were much more likely to trust a recommendation from friends or family, the poll also reveals.
A drive by ministers to increase choice in the NHS has led to more and more detailed league tables being published.
These rate the performance of all the NHS trusts in England and award marks for a range of tests including cleanliness and the use of mixed-sex wards to the helpfulness of staff.
They are designed to help patients who can now decide where they would like to be treated using a computerised ‘Choose and Book’ system.
However, the information was ignored by the vast majority of patients, a study by the King’s Fund think tank found.
Just 4 per cent of patients, who were asked to tick as many sources of information as applied, said that they accessed the tables through the official NHS Choices website.
Another six per cent read a leaflet or a book about their choices, while nine per cent asked the adviser on a telephone line while making a booking.
By contrast, 41 per cent relied on their own past experience of the hospital and another 36 per cent asked their GP.
An additional 18 per cent relied on the experience of their friends or family when making the decision.
Another, more general survey by the fund, found that when asked where they heard about information about hospital 56 per cent agreed from personal experience, 52 per cent from friends and family, 50 per cent agreed from the media, and 13 per cent from their GP.
The study asked almost 6,000 patients who had been referred for hospital treatment.
Patients were most concerned about cleanliness and quality, while travel costs and parking were seen only as “somewhat important”.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said that NHS Choices now received seven million hits a month "and is one of the most popular health websites in the world".
So who is telling porkies then, the patients or the pointy heads at the Dept of Half-Arsed Ideas, now let me think.
Angus
Angus Dei on all and sundry
AnglishLit
Angus Dei politico
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