Your health choices
Deciding on your treatment
Decision aids are designed to help patients make decisions about difficult healthcare choices. They provide good quality information about all the options for the health problem, and questions to help patients think about what is important to them.
Patient’s views can change over time depending on their experiences and who they talk to. Patient decision aids are specially designed resources that help patients make decisions about difficult healthcare options and help to understand why one option is better than another.
Those who use decision aids say they understand the health problem and treatment choices more clearly. They understand why one treatment is better for them than another and feel that they can talk more confidently about their reasons for preferring an option.
Each decision aid is split in to five steps to guide patients through the process of making a decision.
More information on deciding your treatment.
Young People’s Rights
Young people have rights when making decisions and choices about their healthcare. This resource has been produced with young people. A local young member of The Flying High Group has been involved with the project to develop the resource for over 2 years.
More about young people's rights.
Choosing where you have NHS treatment
If your GP needs to refer you for a physical or mental health condition then in most cases you have the legal right to choose the hospital or service you'd like to go to.
You can also choose a clinical team led by a consultant or named healthcare professional, as long as that team provides the treatment you require. For more information visit; choosing a hospital or consultant and choosing a mental health service.
The Referral Support Service (RSS) is a local service working on behalf of NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group. The RSS support GPs in getting patient referrals into the right services. If you are referred to a hospital for treatment the RSS will contact you by phone to help you with your choices and book you an appointment in an appropriate service.
If the RSS can’t speak to you by phone they will send you a letter listing a number of local services for you to choose from.
You can book your appointment via the NHS e-Referral service. You can book by phone or online using the shortlist of hospitals or services provided in your Appointment Request letter.
Patient choice easy read guide
You can view what choices are currently available to NHS patients in the NHS Choice Framework on GOV.UK. Here you'll also find information about when you can't choose, for example, if you need emergency care or if you are a member of the armed forces.
More useful information from the NHS choices website:
Choosing a hospital or consultant
Choosing a mental health service
Every NHS patient should be actively involved in the decisions about their care and treatment. Go to NHS patient choice to find out more.
Personal Health Budgets
For information on personal health budgets please click here.
