Doctors’ concerns over own hospitals

Almost half of doctors would not automatically recommend the hospital where they work to loved ones, according to a poll out today.

Only four out of 10 would “definitely” recommend their workplace to family and friends, 36 per cent would “probably” and 13 per cent would “not” or “definitely not”, it says. But one Shropshire doctor greeted the findings with scepticism, claiming it does not accurately reflect the situation in the county.

Nationally more than 85 per cent of doctors also said they had witnessed “significant” or “major differences” in the standards of care offered at the hospitals where they have worked during their career, the survey said.

The poll of 312 doctors was carried out to launch a new website - nhsUnlocked.org - which aims to combine doctor and patient experiences to give “insider info” on what hospitals are really like alongside ratings.

However, Dr Steve Edmunds, from Pontesbury Medical Practice who is also a member of the Shropshire Local Medical Committee, said most referrals to hospital were based on patient need.He said: “GPs are free to refer to any hospitals that are on the NHS Choices website and if the services are suitable for the patient.

“I would say that the uptake is low simply because the vast majority of ordinary patients would choose, quite rightly, to have their care quite close to home but there are exceptions.”

Dr Edmunds said he did not believe doctors had particular preferences over where to send patients but said that if a GP did have concerns about a particular hospital they would be justified not to refer somebody there.

The nhsUnlocked.org website was set up by two London-based NHS hospital doctors, Matt Jameson Evans, a registrar in orthopaedic surgery, and Chris McCullough, a registrar in renal medicine.

A spokesman for the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust said there was already a range of alternatives to the new website available for patients to access including the Dr Foster Hospital Guide and the NHS Choices website.

He said: “Patients are encouraged to leave comments about their experiences to help other patients make choices about their treatment. So far 29 people have made valuable comments about our hospital services.”