Patient Choice is a government initiative introduced to give NHS patients more choice about where, when and what time they are treated. NHS patients in England who require hospital treatment can now choose any participating hospital in the country that can meet their needs.
The current NHS waiting time from seeing your General Practitioner to treatment is a maximum of 18 weeks.
If you wish to have your consultation, procedure or treatment sooner, you may wish to consider continuing your treatment as a private patient rather than remaining as an NHS patient.
This gives you an option to have your appointment or treatment at a date and time which is convenient to you and fits in with your family and work commitments.
Read our Access Policy (pdf) for more information on waiting lists and management of patients accessing NHS treatment.