New NHS patient feedback website to be rolled out nationwide

The government is to introduce a new patient feedback website for the NHS that will make it easier for service users to share their experiences of care.

Tim Kelsey, the NHS director in charge of patients and information, told the Guardian that the scheme will be rolled out across the country following the success of a three-month trial involving 20 hospital trusts on the Care Connect website.

Styled after the popular travel site Tripadvisor, the new online portal will see complaints and reviews from patients logged, mapped and addressed with responses from hospitals in real time.

The aim of the site is to bring instances of poor care quality to light as early as possible, allow hospitals to interact directly with patients and address the problem in an efficient manner.

Mr Kelsey said: "This has gone really quite well. So we have taken the decision to roll it out nationally next year."

This comes as part of wider efforts to enhance accountability standards in healthcare. Last month, it was announced that the Friends and Family Test scheme – which asks patients if they would recommend the service to their friends and family – will be extended across the NHS.