In England, NHS patients have the right to request to move to a different hospital to receive their care/treatment if they have been waiting longer than 18 weeks.
As we continue to recover from the pandemic, patients who have been waiting over 40 weeks for their first outpatient appointment, or for their operation, are being contacted on Tuesday 31 October 2023 by text or letter to invite them to consider whether they wish to move to another hospital to receive earlier care/treatment. This current cohort excludes patients under 18 years and those that have been referred from another hospital awaiting specialist treatment.
Once a patient has submitted their details, including how far they are willing to travel, this will be reviewed by our hospital and our partner organisations. Patients will receive updates following their submission.
For more information, please visit PIDMAS - patient-initiated digital mutual aid system.