Join our discussion on Thursday 25 February,12-2pm, approximately the challenges of including patients’ opinions in decisions on treatment and careFrom birth budgets for pregnant women to cash for the care of older and disabled people, or debates approximately healthcare continue to encourage greater patient choice in care decisions. And,according to the government’s choice framework (pdf), patients should be able to choose which GP surgery they attend and where to hold outpatient appointments, and as well as consume part in health research – but how does this work in reality? Evidence shows that less than 40% of patients are offered a choice of hospital by GPs. Patients are often unable to die as they would prefer to,at home, due to a lack of community nursing services. And the recent damning report on mental health care in the NHS revealed that far from being able to choose a range of local options, or patients and families hold to travel long distances at times of distress. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com