§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about patients having difficulty using call centres to pre-book hospital appointments under pilot pre-booking and patient choice initiatives. [186009]
§ Mr. HuttonSince the launch of the new national health service "Choose and Book" system in the early adopter sites, the Department has not received any representations from patients, or their carers and representatives, about difficulties using the booking management service call centre.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what options will be available for patients booking hospital 899W appointments other than via call centres following implementation of the Government's proposals for the pre-booking of hospital appointments. [186010]
§ Mr. HuttonUnder the proposals for electronic hooking, patients will be able to book hospital appointments at their local surgery with the help of their general practitioner or the practice staff. Patients will also be able to book their appointments online from home, at an internet kiosk or by telephone through the dedicated call centre.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance has been issued to primary care trusts on establishing call centres to handle requests for booked appointments in pursuance of the Government's proposals for all hospital appointments to be pre-booked. [186011]
§ Mr. HuttonThe national programme for information technology has issued the following implementation guidance to primary care trusts (PCTs)
The electronic booking implementation document (March 2003).The booking management services resource pack (December 2003).The booking management service plan development framework (March 2004).These documents provided guidance to PCTs in developing their call centre options so that their patients can book their first hospital outpatient appointment by telephone, if they choose not to book the appointment within the primary care surgery.