A NEW online service which allows patients to rate and compare hospitals on issues such as cleanliness, car parking and waiting times, is now available to patients in Okehampton.

Patients now have the right to choose when and where they get hospital treatment and the new web-based scorecard will provide all the information they need to choose which hospital is for them.

Information on the site includes mortality rates, infection rates, cleanliness, staff performance and quality of food, as well as the views of people who have used the hospital's services.

Devon Primary Care Trust's managing director of health and social care delivery, Sally Slade, said: 'Offering patients the option to rate their hospital gives them real power and puts them at the heart of the NHS.

'This new site will help patients to share information about health services and make an informed decision about their treatment.

'We already encourage feedback from patients on a local level, but this goes one step further, giving the patient a real say.'

The website allows patients to pick from a drop down menu and choose criteria which are most important to them when making decisions.

People can either look at a general scorecard which compares different hospitals, or look in more detail at specific treatments and procedures within those hospitals.

The online service is available at http://www.nhs.uk">www.nhs.uk

For more information phone Paul Hopkins on 01392 267 647 or email [email protected]">[email protected]