Residents of Hertfordshire braved the icy conditions on Wednesday 1st December to attend “The Choice is Yours” event in Letchworth. Hertfordshire LINk organised the event in partnership with North Herts 50+ Forum.
The event had three areas of discussion. NHS Hertfordshire explained the “Use it Right” campaign. If you’ve visited your GP recently you may have seen posters informing you that minor illnesses can be treated at home. They explained that if you hurt yourself, Minor Injury Units can see you quicker than A&E and pharmacists are a better first contact than GP’s if you have a cold. Some of the audience felt the Minor Injury Units were not easily accessible to North Herts residents.
NHS Hertfordshire also discussed “Choose and Book” where patients can chose which hospital to attend if their GP refers them to a specialist. This has been in place for nearly 6 years however due to lack of knowledge around Choose and Book lots of questions followed.
Roberta Meldrum (The Letchworth Centre for Healthy Living) discussed complementary approaches which enable us to take ownership for our own health and well-being.
The event was extremely informative and we left knowing our rights, as patients, to have a choice in the health care we receive. Few knew it is possible to leave your GP with your hospital appointment in your diary before leaving the surgery!