NHS hospitals rated like TripAdvisor on new website
The website allows patients to compare hospitals on clinical measures such as mortality rates and superbugs but also more consumer conveniences like car parking and quality of food.
The site, www.nhs.uk , will bring all the information together in one place to make it easier for patients to choose where to be treated.
Patients will be able to compare a range of items from a range of hospitals in a similar way to price comparison sites and will also be able to read reviews from past patient and post their own comments.
Health Secretary Andy Burnham said: "Going into hospital is one of the most important moments in anyone's life. And yet we don't equip patients with anything like enough information to make informed decisions.
"The new scorecard helps patients make the right choice of hospital for them by bringing together all the information in one place for the first time.
"The service also offers an unparalleled opportunity for hospitals to be made aware of any issues and act to improve their services, helping to drive up standards across the board, and become more patient focused."
Michael Summers, Vice Chairman of the Patients Association, said: "The more information that patients have about local availability of their healthcare and the standards that they are looking for, the better it is. We would fully support the launch of this important web tool and would hope that patients will benefit substantially from it."
Every hospital in England is also being asked to encourage patients to leave feedback on the NHS website, and to respond to comments, in order to drive up standards.
Stephen Ramsden, Chief Executive of Luton & Dunstable Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We have been working closely with NHS Choices and our front line staff to raise awareness of the excellent information on this website for our patients.
"We also want to make sure that our patients are aware that they can leave feedback about their experience on NHS Choices to help us to continue to improve our services, and also to praise the L&D Hospital where it is due."
Later this year, a similar service is being launched to allow patients to rate and compare GP Practices.