This is the first of two supplements to be published in consecutive issues of Body&Soul. This week we aim to help those of you who need or want specialist care to improve looks and confidence — cosmetic surgery, eye surgery and skin treatments. And through Times Online, you can get exclusive access to research-backed data about the best care available nearest to you.

Until now, deciding which hospital to go to or which consultant to trust, has been the privilege of those with access to private medicine. But we are entering a new age of healthcare: the age of patient choice.

It is a maxim of this Government that more decisions should be in the hands of NHS patients themselves and that doctors should be partners in our care, not controllers. That means that if we need treatment, we will increasingly be offered choices about where and when to go and who will treat us.

It’s already happening. People who have been on a hospital waiting list for six months or more are already being offered the option of an alternative hospital. From this month, all patients needing eye treatment will be offered a choice of at least two hospitals. And, by December, all patients will be offered four or five hospitals to choose from if they need non-urgent care for everything from varicose vein removal to heart surgery.

The once-strict dividing line between NHS and private is being blurred, so it could mean that the options will include private hospitals as well as public.

Increasing numbers of people are turning directly to the private sector for the treatments they want or need — for example cosmetic or laser eye surgery. But there is a bewildering array of providers out there and it is difficult to know which to trust and which to avoid.

It’s a daunting and potentially risky prospect but that is why our guides are here to help.

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

Using the latest data, The Times, with the independent health research body Dr Foster, has compiled lists of key questions.

All the questions are based on expert opinion and evidence, which has been compiled by Dr Foster.

On this first page, we provide some general questions that you should ask about hospitals and consultants. Then for each of three types of treatment — cosmetic surgery, eyes and skin — we provide first general questions, then some specific questions about treatments and conditions. And, as there’s nothing like hindsight, we’ve asked former patients to tell us what they wished they’d known at the time.

Times Online readers have exclusive fast-track access to Dr Foster’s listings of all the NHS consultants who specialise in the procedures in these guides by clicking here. This is a unique resource — nowhere else can you look up which consultants have a particular skill or interest.

Dr Foster’s listings also tell you about the waiting time for NHS appointments with specific doctors, and whether and where they do private work. Dr Foster’s listings here, also provide information about the standards of hospitals and performance against key standards.

CONTRIBUTORS

Edited by Simon Crompton. Data compiled by Dr Foster (Roger Taylor, Scott Parker, Paul Clark, Robert Palgrave). Additional research by Portia Colwell, Stuart McGurk, Edward Hagan and Katy Mair. Print supplement designed by Sue Foll. Body&Soul editor Hilly Janes

ABOUT DR FOSTER

Dr Foster is an independent organisation providing information about the quality and availability of health services. Founded in 2000, it is a collaboration of healthcare professionals, academics and journalists and is now the leading independent authority on healthcare performance.

The Dr Foster unit at Imperial College, London, is directed by Professor Sir Brian Jarman. Dr Foster publishes guides for the public and professionals about the quality of NHS and private hospital care. The organisation is legally required to follow a code of conduct that requires it to act in the public interest and prohibits political bias.

The Dr Foster Ethics Committee is empowered to adjudicate on complaints and oversee this code of conduct. The committee is chaired by Dr Jack Tinker, who can be contacted c/o Dr Foster Ltd, 17 St Helen’s Place London EC3A 6DG. More information is available from Dr Foster or via the Dr Foster helpline on 0906-190 0212 (£1.50 per minute; costs from mobile phones vary).

Methodology

The information on waiting times, length of stay, readmission rates and day case rates are taken from the NWCS data set for the year to March 31, 2004. This data set includes records of all in-patients treated in England during that period.

Readmission rates measure the percentage of patients admitted as an emergency to any hospital within 28 days of discharge. Information on the special interests of consultants is taken from the Dr Foster database which lists over 90 per cent of hospital consultants in the UK. Special interests are as reported by consultants in response to questionnaires. For full details on how the information is compiled please go to Dr Foster.

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