Patients 'to give GPs TripAdvisor-style ratings'
Patients are to be given the opportunity to rate the treatment and service they receive at their GP surgery over the internet, under plans from the coalition government.
Top related searches:
And Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has actually compared the proposals to the popular holiday reviews website TripAdvisor.
He said: "Once people relied on the recommendation of a travel agent, now they take control with sites like TripAdvisor. Once people took pot luck, now they read Which? online reviews and Amazon customer ratings.
"We are significantly expanding the amount of information available. If, for example, you are a long-term asthma sufferer you will be able to find the local GPs that are best at treating people with your condition.
"You will be able to see how popular that surgery is and whether they focus on treating the elderly or young people. And you will see whether they regularly offer a choice of hospital to have your operation performed."
Surgeries will be ranked on their treatment of common ailments and on the level of service provided, with patients giving feedback on how friendly staff are and how easy it is to secure an appointment.
What do you think? Good idea or is Mr Lansley tapping into the trend for consumer empowerment in order to drive privatisation in the NHS? Comment below...
