What is Choose and Book?

Choose and Book is a national service that, for the first time, combines electronic appointment booking and offers a choice of place, date and time for first outpatient appointments. It revolutionises our current booking system, with patients able to choose their initial hospital appointment, and book it on the spot in the surgery or later on the phone or via the internet at a time and place that is most convenient to them.

Research has consistently shown that patients want to be more involved in taking decisions and choosing their healthcare. The majority of patients who are offered the choice of Choose & Book view the experience as positive and valuable.

Kelly Kirk – London : “I gave them the password I had been given at the GP surgery and they had all my details and an appointment was available a month later, which I thought was pretty quick.”

“I felt more involved through the whole process – normally you get told where you have to go and at what time.”

Sarah Thirkill – Devon : "I was astounded when I went into the surgery and left with my appointment. What an improvement in service. It’s great, more people should know about this. I really felt I was being considered as a person and not just a number for the convenience of the NHS.”   

Choose and Book is available across the country and as part of the wider National Programme for IT. Take up of the service increasing each month. A total of more than 6 million referrals to specialist care have now been made. Trusts are reporting that Choose and Book is allowing them to increase efficiencies in hospitals by helping to reduce the number of Did Not Attend (DNA) appointments and improve waiting times for patients.

For more information, visit the Choose&Book Website.