myhealthlondon GP compare site launched

A new website showing performance and patient satisfaction levels at London’s GP practices is being launched today.

The myhealthlondon website brings together data on a set of 22 standards developed by NHS London with Londonwide Local Medical Committees.

Patients will be able to see how their practice performs against national standards such as childhood immunisations and cervical screening, as well as how they compare with other London practices.

The website go-live comes hot on the heels of health secretary Andrew Lansley’s Wednesday launch of two online tools designed to give patients more information about their GP and local care providers.

One of these was the addition of comparative outcome data for GP practices to the NHS Choices website, which was modelled on the NHS London scheme.

Each practice will have its own myhealthlondon webpage which can be customised to showcase their work and keep the public informed of clinics and services. It will also enable patients to provide feedback.

Patient groups can get involved by providing information about support groups and services that can be publicised on the webpages. Practices that already have websites can create a link to the page.

An NHS London statement says the aim is to create an information hub that will constantly be developed like an “online newspaper focusing on health issues for Londoners.”

NHS London chief executive Dame Ruth Carnall said the website would be a useful tool for patients to find out about services and contribute to discussions about how they might be improved.

“For GPs, the website provides a platform to showcase their successes and learn from each other, contributing to our priority to continually develop a world class standard of healthcare for Londoners,” she said.