Patient choice within NHS North West London

Our role at the NHS North West London Integrated Care Board is to join up health and care services, improve people's health and wellbeing, and make sure everyone can access the same services and get the same outcomes from their care and treatment.  

We are committed to making sure that everyone living in north west London have the right to choose and are fully informed of their options regarding which provider they are referred to, based on both geography and waiting times. 

If you have been referred for consultant-led treatment, or to a mental health service, you can:

• Choose which organisation or provider you would like to receive care from as an outpatient
• Choose the clinical team within that provider who will manage your care.

These choices apply to both physical and mental health, but only apply at the time of referral (e.g. by a GP, dentist or optometrist). These choices are only available for providers that have an NHS contract to offer the service you need. 

Whenever possible, you will be given five options to choose from. Your GP practice or referral management centre will share these options with you.  

This will include providers from the independent sector who the ICB have commissioned to provide that service.

In some cases, you can request to be referred to a different NHS provider. For example, if you have been waiting – or would need to wait- more than 18 weeks for treatment, and your situation meets the criteria stated in the national guidance.

Our goal is to make sure everyone can access the right services and get the treatment they need.

For full details about your right to choose and the situations where this might not apply, you can read the NHS Choice Framework.