Press Release

Release Date: 7th October, 2010.

Patient Opinion and Looking Local today announce an innovative new service which enables more people than ever before to easily see patient feedback about local health services - even if they are not computer users.

Patient Opinion is an award-winning not-for-profit social enterprise which enables patients, relatives and carers to share their experiences of health services on the web, and aims to route their stories to just the right people in the NHS who can make improvements. The service has been running since 2005 and covers hospitals, hospices, ambulances, community services and mental health services across the UK.

By using the power of the web, Patient Opinion has also enabled hundreds of NHS services to respond, showing how they are using the feedback they receive to make improvements to care. But with recent figures showing that ten million adults in the UK still lack access to the Internet, it was clear that more needed to be done to make sure as many people as possible could access this information.

The partnership between Patient Opinion and Looking Local announced today widens access to patient feedback by delivering it on digital interactive TV and mobile phones. Launching first in Sefton, Patient Opinion will soon be available to all Looking Local partners - currently standing at 125 - and allow millions of people to see what others are saying about their local services, and how services are responding.

David Hammond, Engagement Officer at NHS Sefton said:

"The partnership between Patient Opinion and Looking Local is great news for NHS Sefton. Our services on digital TV are already reaching people in the community who otherwise have no electronic access, and this will simply allow them to be part of the wider health debate."

Dr Paul Hodgkin, chief executive of Patient Opinion (and also a Sheffield GP) said:

"Patient Opinion has always been about including as many people as possible in improving their local services - so we are excited that partnering with Looking Local has allowed us to bring patient feedback to even more people through digital TV and mobile phones."