Simple and free to use:

1. Search for a doctor by name, specialty or region of the country and read the reviews and ratings of other patients. 
2. Read what others think about Nursing Homes in your area.
3. Benefit from the advice and experience of others taking the same medicine as you.
   

By showing you truly independent ratings and reviews you are able to find the sort of care best suited for your needs. Benefit from the wisdom and experience of patients just like you and ensure you get care to best meet your individual needs and preferences.

Choosing your next doctor - Trust, listen, recommend

Simply use the search box on iWantGreatCare to see doctors listed according to the views of other patients and their carers. Instantly see how much that doctor listens, how much trust patients have in their ability and whether their patients would recommend them to others.

Finding a nursing home - see what others think

iWantGreatCare allows you to see reviews and ratings of all UK homes - as judged by residents themselves and their relatives. Choosing a nursing home is incredibly difficult, iWantGreatCare allows you to read and benefit from those who have already made the choice and know what the home is really like.

Coping with side-effects of medicine - what do others like you do?

Whatever medicine you are taking, and however it affects you, a fellow patient has already had a similar experience and may have found a way to cope that you can benefit from. Had experience of taking a certain medicine? Let your fellow patients benefit by adding your rating and review - including ways you made any side-effects more tolerable.

Contributing to the improvement of the NHS

iWantGreatCare is the simplest, most direct way to provide the feedback that organisations and doctors need to deliver better care. Simply add your comments to iWantGreatCare and your reviews are instantly shared for the benefit of those giving care - but most importantly to help the next patient. Reviews are totally anonymous and your details are not shared with the doctor or organisation unless you choose to pass them on.

The health service is not run for doctors, hospitals, owners of nursing homes or drug companies – it is run for patients, and iWantGreatCare empowers you to provide the direct feedback necessary to ensure continuous improvement for each and every patient in the UK.

iWantGreatCare, 2009

 

What has been the response to iWantGreatCare?

 

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I add a location for my doctor?
• Where is the review I added?
• How will my review help other patients get great care?
• How can the ratings of doctors help me/my family get better health?
• Don't all doctors give great care?
• My doctor is not listed, how do I add them?
• The hospital/surgery where I saw my doctor is not listed, can I add it?
• What should I put in the review of my doctor?
• What should I put in the review of my medicine?
• What should I put in the review of my nursing home?
• What should I NOT put in the review?
• How many reviews can I write?
• Do you edit the reviews?
• Will my doctor know I wrote about them?
• What information do you keep about me? Why?
• Why do you need my email address?
• Is my review anonymous?
• Why did I get an email after writing a review?
• I posted a review but haven't had the confirmation email?
• How can I remove a review I wrote?
• Why did I get a message saying my review could not be posted?
• I read a review which is offensive or unacceptable
• How do I find a doctor for my area or medical need?
• How can I find the technical results of a doctor?
• How do you prevent abuse of the system?
• What do doctors think of iWantGreatCare?
• I think iWantGreatCare should be more widely used, how can I get involved?
• Who runs iWantGreatCare?

How do I add a location for my doctor?

If you add or review a doctor, you may be asked to add the location at which you saw them. Simply type the first few letters of the hospital or practice name and then choose from the options. If you have any problems adding a location, please email adminservices@iwantgreatcare.org confirming the name and location of the doctor you want to rate.

Where is the review I added?

Reviews may take up to 5 days to appear. The iWantGreatCare team may need to confirm details of the doctor or nursing home that you have rated. If your review is not visible after this time, please check you have clicked the link in the confirmation email you received. Reviews that breach the terms of use will not be added.

How will my review help other patients get great care?

Adding your opinion to iWantGreatCare is a direct and effective way to help other patients and carers. As more reviews are added, patients looking for the best doctor, nursing home or medicine can read the shared experience of thousands of others to help them find the care best suited to their needs.

Adding your anonymous opinion to iWantGreatCare is also an effective way to give constructive feedback and thanks to your doctor. This helps them to be fully aware of your experience and helps improve the care they give. Being transparent and open about patients' feedback will help doctors build trusted relationship with their patients. Such relationships are known to deliver better health outcomes.

How can the ratings of doctors, medicines and care homes help me/my family get better healthcare?

You can search iWantGreatCare to find the type of doctor with the style and approach you prefer. All doctors have met professional standards to practice safely and competently, but the 'bedside manner' and communication methods of doctors vary greatly. By reading the reviews of other patients you will be able to get an idea of how a doctor behaves towards patients, and thus choose the approach that best meets your needs. It is well reported that the quality of the relationship and communication you have with your doctor can influence the outcome of your care. Letting your doctor know what a great job they have done and using iWantGreatCare to publicly thank them will help them continue to give great care.

Whether you are looking for medicines to suit you, or a nursing home for those you love - the experiences and opinions of others in a similar position provides you with a whole new insight to help guide your choice?

Don't all doctors give great care?

All doctors have met professional standards and are only allowed to practice if they give safe, effective, competent care. However patients are more satisfied by the care from some doctors compared to other doctors in the same specialty. Doctors have their own personal style and approach and iWantGreatCare allows you to find the doctor with the characteristics you prefer.

My doctor is not listed, how do I add them?

If you are sure your doctor is not listed in the search results you can add them to iWantGreatCare. Simply click the "Your doctor not found, add them now" link at the bottom of the page. You will then be able to add your doctor's title, forename, surname, what sort of doctor they are (e.g. General Practice, Cardiology, etc) and choose the location of the hospital/surgery where you saw them. You can then immediately add your review. By doing this you have helped others get great care.

The hospital/surgery where I saw my doctor is not listed, can I add it?

In the unlikely event of not being able to find your hospital or surgery on the site, e.g. when adding or rating a doctor, please email adminservices@iwantgreatcare.org with details of the location and the name of the doctor you would like to rate and review. 

What should I put in the review of my doctor?

The most useful doctor reviews help the next patient get a feel for the style and approach of the doctor. They highlight the great things about the doctor and how they have helped you or your family, as well as suggesting ways that the doctor could be even better. The more detail the better. Doctors find open, balanced reviews and suggestions very helpful in their drive to continually offer better care to all their patients. Stick to your opinion, and remember you are legally responsible for what you write. It will not be helpful to the next patient by ranting about a doctor.

What should I put in the review of my medicine?

Again, try to think what would have been most useful to you before you started the medicine. Would you recommend it? What do you wish your doctor had told you? Did you find ways to reduce the severity of side-effects? Can you reassure the next patient who may be worried or anxious? This is your chance to do a good deed and share advice and experience that can help thousands of others.

What should I put in the review of a nursing home?

What have you found out by being a resident or having a friend or relative in a home? What are the staff like, what is the food like and is it a caring place? Finding a residence for a loved one is often frightening, emotional and confusing. By sharing, honest, fair reviews you can help the next person in a similar position, whilst at the same time giving direct feedback to home owners focus on the needs of residents and continually improve what they do.

What should I NOT put in the review?

Do not put in anything offensive, obscene, or libelous. Please ensure you have read the terms of use of iWantGreatCare – and remember you may not post any reviews of doctors or homes if you are involved in any ongoing litigation or complaints procedure. You may be personally liable for what you write and iWantGreatCare will co-operate fully with any legal proceedings related to the use of iWantGreatCare that breaches the terms and conditions or which breaks the law.

How many reviews can I write?

To prevent abuse of the system or bias from a small group of patients, there is a limit to how many reviews you can add. If you have a valid reason to review more doctors than iWantGreatCare allows, for example you have been treated by a team of doctors for a complex problem, please use the form on the contact page and the iWantGreatCare team will make appropriate arrangements.

Do you edit the reviews?

No, iWantGreatCare does not edit reviews or ratings. What you write goes directly onto the site for others to see. iWantGreatCare is an independent service and allows you to see what other patients think without any interference. Reviews that break the Terms of Use are removed.

Will my doctor/nursing home know I wrote about them?

All ratings and reviews are anonymous. The only way others will know you wrote about them will be if you include something in the review that identifies you. If you would like others to know what you are writing about them, you can include your name in your review.

What information do you keep about me? Why?

iWantGreatCare keeps your IP address (internet address of your computer) and email address when you add a rating/review or report a review. Recording your IP address helps prevent abuse of iWantGreatCare and your email address is needed so you can receive an email allowing you confirm the information you posted is correct. Please note: you have to click on the link in this email for your review to be added to iWantGreatcare.

iWantGreatCare aims to exceed all the requirements of the Data Protection Act. Your personal information is never shared, sold or passed to third parties. The only exception to this is if you break the law by making a posting that is obscene, libelous, etc. iWantGreatCare will fully co-operate with any formal legal proceedings related to information you add to iWantGreatCare.

Why do you need my email address?

To prevent abuse of iWantGreatCare you will be sent an email after adding a review or rating. You need to click on the link in that email to confirm the information in your rating or review is correct. If you do not click this link, then your review will not be added.

You can also choose to receive alerts and information relevant to your care by selecting this option when you add a review.

Is my review anonymous?

Yes, totally anonymous unless you identify yourself in the review. Your personal information and email address is not passed on.

Why did I get an email after writing a review?

You need to confirm the rating or review you added by clicking a link in the email you have been sent. This is one of many ways iWantGreatCare prevents abuse of the system and protects patients from being misled. Your rating or review will not appear on iWantGreatCare until you click on the confirmation link in the email.

I posted a review but haven’t had the confirmation email?

Please check your spam or blocked mail folder. If you are sure it is not there please use the form on the contact page and the iWantGreatCare team will look into this immediately. Please include on the contact form the name of the doctor, home or medicine you reviewed and the date you added the review.

How can I remove a review I wrote?

If you need to remove a review you wrote then please send full details, including the name of the doctor, medicine or nursing home and the date you added the review to changemyreview@iWantGreatCare.org. You must send this email from the address you used when you added the review.

Why did I get a message saying my review could not be posted?

The reason will be given in the message, and will usually be due to exceeding the limit on the number of reviews an individual can add. If you have a valid reason to review more doctors than iWantGreatCare allows, for example you have been treated by a team of doctors for a complex problem, please use the form on the contact page and the iWantGreatCare team will get in touch.

I read a review which is offensive or unacceptable

Please click the "Report this review" link by the review, you will then be asked to leave a comment and then click the button that reports the review. This alerts the iWantGreatCare team who will assess the posting.

How do I find care local to my area or medical need?

The search box on the front page allows you to search for doctors by the name of the place they work or by approximate location. Likewise you can search for nursing homes in a given region. Additionally you can search by the specialty of the doctor you need, e.g. if you need a knee replacement you search for 'Orthopaedics'.

How can I find the technical results of a doctor?

iWantGreatCare does not assess the technical ability of doctors, rather it allows all patients to assess and measure the non-technical abilities of doctors: how they make their patients feel, how they communicate and what patients think of them. These crucial issues are known to influence the health outcomes of patients, and are universally recognised as a vital - and valid - measure of high quality care.

If you need to know how doctors perform technically and other measurements of their clinical performance, it is best to ask the doctor directly or ask the hospital or surgery they work in. Good doctors will welcome such questions and will be open in their response. If a doctor resents or objects to such questions you may wish to change doctors - and record their response in the review you put on iWantGreatCare!

How do you prevent abuse of the system?

iWantGreatCare has developed a complex, multi-layered technology to prevent abuse of the system. This combines human, automated and statistical monitoring at each step of the process and is one of the most advanced security solutions for internet reviews of healthcare. The technology has been proven to protect from malicious use of iWantGreatCare, and is continually  being improved and advanced.

What do doctors think of iWantGreatCare?

It varies! A few don't like it, but far more have enthusiastically welcomed the idea. The whole area of direct patient feedback is new and for some doctors this is very challenging. However all good doctors want to know what their patients think about them so they can improve and continue to build trust and confidence. Tell your doctor you think it's a good idea - their response might help you tell whether they are the best doctor for you and your family.

I think iWantGreatCare should be more widely used, how can I get involved?

Please encourage your friends and family to rate and review their medicines and doctors on iWantGreatCare. If you are part of a patient group or medical charity and would like to work with iWantGreatCare please see the Charities page for more detail and to get in touch

If you have had experience of a nursing home, run one, or work in one then please add your reviews and encourage others to do likewise.

iWantGreatCare highlights great care - and puts pressure on the not so great to improve.

Who runs iWantGreatCare?

The rapidly growing team managing iWantGreatCare passionately believes that empowering patients to share their experience, knowledge and opinions drives change and improvements in the health service to benefit all.

The idea for iWantGreatCare came from Dr Neil Bacon an Oxford specialist and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, who has combined an Oxford and Harvard medical career with a decade’s experience of developing innovative internet services for better healthcare.

However the real power behind iWantGreatCare is you - the patients, carers and all those passionate about delivering great healthcare. It is your opinions that matter the most - iWantGreatCare just helps harness, focus and maximise the impact of the most honest, immediate and direct insight into quality care - the patient voice.

If your questions have not been answered in the sections above, please contact the team.