If your doctor has referred you to a hospital recently, you may have noticed a change to the system that we are using. This is a new Government initiative called “Choose and Book”. It has been set up to give patients more choice in terms of where, when and by whom they are seen.

You are given an Appointment Request Sheet listing possible clinics which might be suitable for the problem that you have and a Choose & Book leaflet, explaining the system once you have discussed your condition with your doctor. You then ring the telephone number on the sheet and book yourself an appointment which is most suitable to yourself, using the unique password which will have been generated for you. You will also be given a reference number for your appointment in case you would like to change it later. You may find, for example, that Shepton Mallet could see you sooner if you did not mind travelling a little further. The area we cover goes as far as Exeter and into Dorset. We have been using this system at the surgery for a number of months now and believe that it opens great opportunities to patients in terms of offering them flexibility and choice in deciding on where and when they would like to be seen when referred to a specialist by their GP. If you are interested in further details regarding the Choose & Book system, please ask one of our receptionists for a Choose & Book leaflet. This explains to you how the system is operated by the Somerset and West Dorset Booking Management Service. Feedback from any patients who have used this system would be welcome— either positive or negative comments. If we don’t get to hear your views, then we cannot improve our system.