Website of the Department of Health

New tool on the NHS website allows patients to rate the service they receive in hospitals.

Patients are being urged to put people power into action from today by rating the service they receive in hospitals using a new tool on the NHS website.

Care Services Minister Phil Hope and Health Minister Lord Ara Darzi saw the service in action at the Royal Marsden Hospital today.

The NHS Choices website allows patients to review the services they received in hospital and share their experiences with other patients, empowering patients to directly influence the quality of care they receive.

The five key areas patients are asked to comment on are:

• Dignity and respect
• Cleanliness
• Whether doctors and nurses worked well together
• If patients felt they were involved in decisions around their care
• If they would recommend the hospital to friends and family.

As consumers, if we buy an item from eBay, or go to a restaurant, we rightly expect to be able to give feedback on the service received. The NHS should be no different and for something as important as healthcare, patients should make their views known and shout loudly if their care was substandard and equally if it was great.

• Full news story (opens new window)
• NHS Choices website (opens new window)