The new NHS Choices website went live - with no fanfare - on the morning of Tuesday 19 June. It replaces the old www.NHS.uk website and is intended to have complete information about all services provided by all NHS facilities in England.

But information about the switchover has been vague and confusing, even for the Trust IT staff who were expected to supply information. At NHS Networks the only thing we heard - on the grapevine - was that the new site would launch in 'mid-June'. Then suddenly here it is.

Did you know it was coming?

This is a snap poll - results will be announced in one week.

__________________
Website Editor, NHS Networks

Comments or questions on this site? E-mail me: editorial@networks.nhs.uk

Truly dumbed down. Loads of wordy twaddle about how the NHS is organised but no listings of services (hospital trusts, PCTs etc) and search only by postcode and procedure.

... I'd read Dr Crippen's comments here: http://nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com/2007...-man-boobs.html

For my work, I use the NHS website to find information ABOUT the NHS - so that's what I looked at first, and was appalled to find how all the useful stuff had been taken away. I'm now doubly appalled at the patronising awfulness of the "health information" guff (which looks like the product of a bad copywriter rather than a health promotion professional) that has replaced it.

Even the hospitals search feature is useless, despite its oh-so trendy Web 2.0 Google mash-up features. I put in my postcode, and the results that came up were (in order): a BPAS abortion clinic, 2 private hospitals, an NHS site that does have a useful minor injuries unit but which is actually pretty difficult to get to from here by public transport, a community hospital which so far as I'm aware provides no acute services, somewhere I've never heard (presumably private) , and THEN the two major teaching hospitals that I actually regard as my local hospitals (one of them listed twice, confusingly described as both having and not having an A&E dept), and lastly another private hospital. The listings page itself provides NO information other than location and whether or not there's an A&E dept - for that you have to click through to another fatuous page that gives basic contact details. It takes another click from there (at least) to find anything about services on offer.

Please, people, visit the new NHS website and if you don't like what you see, use the feedback form to COMPLAIN. I have.

I agree with your sentiments Hilary and have (I did it the day the site was launched actually) sent a note saying that there were useful - and necessary - features missing; the most important being a Trust / Service search (as you pointed out).

To the webmasters credit they responded very quickly and the search and details will be added back into this new site 'very soon'.

Whilst patients use many web resources, it seems a pity that the needs and use of the old site by professionals do not seem to have been accounted for. Hopefully this is now changing.

Julian

I agree with Hilary, it is much less user friendly than the old nhs.co.uk. The revision to the web site has subtracted value.
I used to use the site to quickly access the sites of various NHS organisations, PCTs, Trusts and SHAs. This does not seem possible on the new site.

Robert

Don't forget that all PCT, SHA and Acute Trust websites and other contact details are in the NHS Networks Contacts Directory - http://www.networks.nhs.uk/228.php

__________________
Website Editor, NHS Networks

Comments or questions on this site? E-mail me: editorial@networks.nhs.uk

Thanks for that, very useful.

Rgds

Robert

I agree with Hilary,well the revised website adds more complexity to the user and i feel it is not user friendly and I used to use the site to quickly access the sites of various NHS organisations, PCTs, Trusts and SHAs. This does not seem possible on the new site.