'Choice? What Choice?' Say Patients

Most people aged 40+ (around three in four) are willing to go to either NHS or private hospitals so long as they receive assurances over minimum standards of care, a MORI survey conducted for the Dept of Health, just publicly released, shows. However, awareness among this population group about the much heralded 'patient choice' agenda is currently very low: only four per cent say they know 'a great deal' about patient choice, and 15% 'a fair amount'. Conversely, two in five (41%) say they know absolutely nothing about choice in healthcare, with 39% knowing 'just a little' about it.

The general reputation of a hospital would not be the single most important factor the 40+ age group takes into account when choosing where to go for treatment or an operation; rather it is cleanliness, followed by the length of waiting lists. GPs' role in the process remains key: 76% of the public aged 40+ say they want information on choosing a hospital given to them by their local practitioner.

Most people aged 40+ would be prepared to travel at least 20 miles for treatment (assuming their GP had recommended the hospital), and half (49%) say they would be willing to travel anywhere in their local authority area. However, there is a limit to the distance people in this age group are prepared to travel -- even if they could be guaranteed much shorter waiting times for operations or treatment. A distance of 100 miles to travel for treatment appears to be the approximate tipping point, after which a majority would rather put up with a longer wait for treatment more locally.

Download the report: What will people choose when choice goes live? pdf, 143KB

Topline Results

I would now like to ask you some questions about healthcare, and your attitudes towards using hospitals in the event that you needed treatment or an operation.

• Results are based on a survey of 1,276 British residents aged 40+, conducted face-to-face in home between 20-24 January 2005.
• Interviews were conducted at 195 sampling points.
• Data have been weighted to the known population profile of Great Britain
• An asterix (*) indicates a percentage of less that 0.5% but greater than zero. Where percentages do not add up to 100, this may be due to computer rounding, multiple responses or the exclusion of don't know categories.
• All figures are percentages based on the total sample (1,276) unless otherwise stated.

Awareness Of Choice In Healthcare

Q1 The Government is developing a new policy to offer people using the NHS more choice about their treatment. How much, if anything, have you heard about this new initiative?

Q2 Which two or three of these would be most important to you in choosing which hospital to use for treatment or an operation?

Q3 Which one of the following would you most prefer to provide you with information about different hospitals to choose for your treatment?

Travel

Q4 If your doctor/GP decided that you needed to be referred to hospital for an operation, how far would you be prepared to travel, if at all, to get to an NHS hospital?

Q5 If you had the choice of going to the NHS hospital closest to you, or to another NHS hospital where you would only wait for half the time for an operation, which one would you choose if:

Q6 And if you were offered the choice of going to a private hospital, where your treatment would be paid for by the NHS, how far would you be prepared to travel, if at all, for your treatment?

Q7 If you had the choice of going to the NHS hospital closest to you, or to a private hospital where you would only wait for half the time for treatment, which one would you choose if:

Preference For Provider

Q8 In general, would you prefer to receive treatment from a private healthcare provider, or treatment from an NHS hospital, or would you be happy with being treated at either?

Q9 Why do you say that?

Q10 What, if anything, would encourage you to go to a private sector healthcare provider rather than the NHS -- assuming the NHS covered all the costs of treatment?Base: all who prefer NHS provider (330)

Awareness Of Providers

Q11 I am now going to read out the names of some healthcare providers. For each one, please tell me how well you feel you know them, if at all.

Likelihood Of Using Provider

Q12 Assuming you needed treatment, please tell how likely you would be to consider using each of these healthcare providers, if you were given the choice of free treatment at any of them. Please also assume that high standards of care would apply at each.