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Alternative choice for patients

Posted: 31 October 2023

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In England, NHS patients have the right to request transfer to a different hospital to receive their care or treatment if they have been waiting longer than 18 weeks.

West Herts Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is part of the alternative choice national roll out which enables patients on waiting lists to consider whether they could be seen sooner at a different hospital.

From 31 October 2023, patients who have been waiting over 40 weeks for treatment at West Herts and do not have an appointment date within the next eight weeks, could be eligible to ask to move to a different hospital to be treated sooner.

Dedicated teams at West Herts are working hard to identify patients who are eligible to receive care by another provider, via the national Patient Initiated Digital Mutual Aid System (PIDMAS). PIDMAS is the digital solution which patients and hospitals use to manage requests.

How will I know if I’m eligible?

West Herts will contact all eligible patients directly and will provide a weblink and telephone number for patients to submit a request to explore their options.

For more information on alternative choice, find out more on our alternative choice webpage.

Ends

  1. For media enquiries, please contact the communications team on: 01923 436280 or email: westherts.communications@nhs.net. For out of hours media enquiries please call the Watford General Hospital switchboard on 01923 244366 and ask for the on call communications manager.
  2. West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves people from across Hertfordshire, north London and further afield. It operates from three hospitals; Watford General, St Albans City and Hemel Hempstead. The trust has a catchment area of over 500,000 people and is one of the largest employers locally, with around 5,000 staff and volunteers.
  3. For more information about our hospitals, visit www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk. You can also join our followers on Twitter (twitter.com/westhertsNHS) and find us on Facebook (facebook.com/westhertsNHS).