UK launches new NHS patient website

The UK Health Secretary has unveiled a new website “NHS Choices” which helps patients decide where and when they should receive treatment.

The government hopes NHS Choices will help patients make informed choices about their health and wellbeing.

For those patients who require quick treatment, the site can identify the most appropriate hospital and for those concerned about infection – the site displays the most current data on MRSA rates.

Patients can compare hospitals, comment on the quality of treatment they receive, and read specific information provided by individual hospitals.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said: “Health advice is the second most popular subject on the web. Consequently here is a bewildering array of information online often of varying quality tat can be confusing or in the worst cases, dangerous.

“With the launch of NHS Choices that will change – patients and providers will now have access to the best, most reliable information on health.”