Choose and Book is a national electronic referral service that began in 2004. Choose and Book allows patients a choice of the place, date and time of their first outpatient appointment in a hospital or clinic.
Patients can either book their appointment with a member of Abbey Medicals practice team, or book at home using the telephone or the internet. To book at home patients will need their appointment request letter, which has your appointment reference number, details of the chosen services and information about how to book your appointment. Your doctor will provide you will this information.
The Benefits of Choose and Book
Under the old system, when you and your doctor agreed that you need to see a specialist, the doctor sent a referral letter to the hospital and the hospital chose the date and time of your appointment. This may have been inconvenient and may also have taken longer. With Choose and Book you can:
- Choose from at least four hospitals.
- Choose the date and time for your appointment.
- Experience greater convenience and certainty.
With Choose and Book, the choice is yours.
Also, there is less chance that information will get lost in the post because more correspondence
takes place through computers.
Choose and book will give you greater control over editing your appointment. You will have the ability to:
- Plan and manage around your existing appointments, if you are currently undergoing treatment
fit your treatment in with your other commitments, at home and at work
- Choose appointments that fit with your carer's schedule
- Check the status of your referral and to change or cancel your appointments easily over the
phone or on the internet.
How Does Choose and Book Work?
When you and your GP agree that you need an appointment with a specialist, your GP can offer you documents to help you choose your hospital. You can also get information about local NHS services – for example, service performance, the facilities they offer, waiting times on the NHS website. You may also like to visit the Care Quality Commission website which provides more information on how hospitals are rated.
Your GP will give you a password in order to access the Choose and Book service. With this you can:
- Call the Choose and Book Appointments Line on 0845 608 8888 or textphone 0845 8 50 22
50 (calls are charged at the local rate and translation services are available)
- Use the internet and go to the Choose and Book website. If you then select Book or Change your appointment, you
can enter the website by giving your appointment reference number, year of birth and
password. When you have given these details, you can book an appointment, change an
appointment or view the status of your booking.
- You can compare information between the hospitals or clinics on your list and print off copies.
What if I don't want to make a choice?
At Abbey Medical we think the patient should have the option to choose where and when the receive treatment. However, if you do not want to make the decision your GP will be able to book your appointment via a referral letter.
Booking and Changing Appointments
You will need your appointment letter and password. Booking you appointment varies depending on the hospital, however you can either:
- Call the Appointments Line on 0845 608 8888 (all calls will be charged at local rate)
- Use the internet and go to the HealthSpace website and then to Book or Change your appointment
- Book your appointment with a member of the practice team
- Or directly call the hospital or clinic
Can I Book all my Hospital Appointments using Choose and Book?
Unfortunately at the moment patients can only book their first outpatient appointment with Choose and Book.
For more information please speak to one of our Receptionists, or click to visit one of the following sites:
NHS- Choose and Book
Care Quality Commission