A GPs' conference has criticised the Choose and Book
system for the electronic booking of hospital appointments, part of
the National Programme for IT in the NHS.
A motion at the conference of Local Medical Committees, part of
the
BMA,
described Choose and Book, implemented by the government NHS IT
agency Connecting for Health, as "a politically driven initiative"
which "gave the illusion of meeting targets and reducing NHS
deficits". But the conference stopped short of calling to have
Choose and Book suspended.
Connecting for Health said this demonstrated clinicians were
aware of the benefits of being able to book appointments
electronically. It said 70% of hospitals now allowed GPs to refer
to a named consultant through Choose and Book and denied the system
was politically driven.
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