ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 explored the national structure and funding of the booking programme, identifying the general implications for patients, staff, and hospitals. In contrast, this chapter moves into a single hospital, to explore in more detail the issues influencing the development of booking from an organizational perspective. The NHS Plan made a commitment that, by the end of 2005, all patients requiring an outpatient clinic appointment or a daycase or inpatient admission would be offered a choice of dates. Overall responsibility for booking was devolved from the national team to strategic health authorities in 2003. Booking was thus included in the performance targets for individual hospitals, contributing to their star rating.
