More than half believe NHS ‘does not offer choice’

A new survey from the British Medical Association (BMA) has revealed that 55 per cent of men and women aged over 18 believe that the NHS “does not offer choice”.

Of the 1,077 respondents across England, 69 per cent said it was “very important” that they should have a say in things generally in the health service, while the timing of treatment was given similar priority.

And despite the government White Paper stating that treatments should be moved out of hospitals and into the community more generally, only three per cent of those surveyed described the NHS as “where treatment takes place” as their first thought about the health service.

James Johnson, BMA chairman, remarked: “There is clearly an appetite amongst the public to be given choice and for having a say in the NHS.”

“On specific choice issues, the public rates the timing of their treatment and choice of family doctors substantially higher than choosing between hospitals or where the treatment takes place,” he added.

The report also found that four out of five people have had contact with an NHS service in the last year, with seven out of ten having visited their GP. In addition, ten times more people were found to use their local GP than an NHS walk-in centre.

Some 13 per cent had also used NHS Direct, the telephone and multimedia medical advice service. The service is being reorganised as part of a new strategy that could result in the losses of 400 jobs.

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