How to use the hospital guide
The Dr Foster Hospital Guide will help you find out more about your local hospitals and hospitals throughout the UK.
Why use this guide?
Recent government policies have given NHS patients in England more choice about where and when they receive hospital treatment. The hospital guide will help you and your GP find the hospital best suited to your needs.
Patients can now choose, non-emergency care from:
- A local menu of hospitals and clinics commissioned by your local primary care trust (PCT)
- A national menu of NHS foundation trusts, NHS treatment centres run by the independent sector and additional independent sector hospitals that have been approved by the Department of Health.
Your GP will be best placed to advise you, but you have the final decision on where you go - this guide gives you the information you need to inform your decision.
What can I find out about my local hospitals?
The hospital guide provides information on:
- Every NHS hospital with more than 300 beds in the UK and/or an A&E department.
- Some smaller NHS hospitals that have important specialist services
- NHS Independent Sector Treatment Centres
- Every private hospital in the United Kingdom that has more than 30 beds and/or inpatient facilities
The hospital guide can help you find:
- Where you can receive treatment for a particular procedure (operation) or condition
- The hospitals nearest to you
- What services a hospital offers
- Profiles of the consultants that work in the hospitals
- Comparative performance data around clinical practice, hospital targets, waiting times and hospital acquired infections
And if you'd rather go private, you can also find out about your local private hospitals.
How do I use the guide?
You can find information about your local hospitals in several different ways:
Procedural search
- Select a procedure or condition from the dropdown list and type in your postcode. Then click search to see a list of the hospitals nearest to you that provide treatment and services for your selected condition or procedure.
- By selecting a hospital from the list you can view performance data relating to your selected procedure and find out general information about the hospital and its services.
Search by hospital or postcode
- Choose the name of a hospital from the dropdown lists. (There are two lists - one for NHS hospitals and one for private hospitals.) Then click 'search' to see information about that hospital.
- Type the name of the hospital or its location (town or city name) into the supplied text box and select a hospital from the options that appear.
- Type in your postcode. Then click 'search' to see a list of the hospitals nearest to you.
If you need information or advice about your health you can contact NHS Direct by phone on 0845 4647, or visit their website.
All Dr Foster health content is provided for general information only and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional, or relied upon as a source of comprehensive practitioner material.
All Dr Foster health content has been peer reviewed by GPs and is updated anually when necessary.
Dr Foster is not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made or treatment given by a user based on the content of the supplied health content. Dr Foster is not liable for the contents of any external internet sites listed, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advised on any of the sites.
Always consult your own GP if you are concerned about your health.