NHS Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is committed to ensuring patients can exercise choice of service provider in accordance with their rights outlined in the NHS Constitution.
We will work with referrers, including GPs, to ensure they are aware of patients’ right to choose and that the appropriate information is available to inform this choice which will depend on local commissioning arrangements.
Services provided in the community rather than in hospital
We commission a number of services that deliver care for patients in the community rather than in a hospital, in keeping with our aim to provide care for people closer to home. Examples of locally provided community services are:
- Musculoskeletal conditions (orthopaedic, rheumatology and pain management)
- Gynaecology
- Diabetes
- Ophthalmology
- Vasectomy
- Respiratory
- Ear, Nose and Throat
- Dermatology
- Nutrition and Dietetics
- Services currently delivered by Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust such as community cardiology, gynaecology and podiatry to name a few.
The above list is not exhaustive and could be amended and updated as other community services are developed.
Choice does not apply where a community service is available. You will be referred to a specific provider for the service in question and you will not generally be able to choose to access services from another provider, unless there are special arrangements in place to support this. If a hospital appointment is required then the community service will offer a choice of hospital providers.
As set out in the NHS Constitution you have some other choices concerning your care and treatment as a patient, these include:
- The right to choose your GP practice, and to be accepted by that practice unless there are reasonable grounds to refuse, in which case you will be informed of these reasons.
- The right to express a preference for seeing a particular doctor or nurse within you GP practice, and for the practice to make every effort to comply.
- If you need to go to hospital to see a specialist, you have the right to choose which hospital you are referred to. This is a legal right for most patients so you can choose any hospital which offers suitable treatment and meets NHS standards and costs. Your GP will help you choose and you can take information away with you to decide.
- If you need to see a consultant you can ask to be referred to a different hospital if you have to wait more than 18 weeks before starting treatment or two weeks before seeing a specialist for suspected cancer.
You can read more about your choices within the NHS here. Information on how to make a complaint can be found here.
Further links:
The NHS Choices website helps patients in this area by providing tools and information. The resources include:
- Health A-Z. Use the Health A-Z to see the common treatment options for particular conditions and find links to specialist charities and patient groups in each area.
- Medicines. NHS Choices information and guidance on medicines.
- Hospital locator. This is a tool which allows all hospitals to be searched according to location, consultant, surgical procedures and departments.
- NHS e-referral service. The online service that allows you to book your own hospital appointments.
- Easy read leaflets
- Digital slides for GP surgeries Choice materials
- NHS Choices: about the NHS
These are not the only choices you can make. There are choices in your lifestyle, decisions about your treatment, and event the way in which you interact with doctors and other health professional that can all affect your health.
Please note, the Patient Choice Policy Statement is a draft and can be amended at any time.