Can you request a hospital in a different council area?

[ibddbi]

Morning.

I'm going through an IBD diagnosis, and suspect that many hospital trips are on the horizon.

I currently live with my boyfriend 1.5 hours from my family, and would prefer to have the procedures with my parents around to help me out.

Does anyone know how easy it is to ask for this, or if it's even possible? I've been going to my GP in my town for reference.

In the past, for a different procedure, I asked to move to the hospital at my parents' and my GP (who wasn't very nice anyway!) said no. Would appreciate any advice - I'm 22 and beyond worried.

Hospitals aren't related to councils. Currently they are linked to Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) but only financially. You can request referral to any NHS hospital from any GP. I only know this applies in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland may be different

Where we used to live we could choose from three hospitals in three counties. Our nearest one was in a different county and I always opted for that one.

Then a few years later they stopped offering that option and all referrals were made to same county hospital, which was over an hour away.

Last year I had to have two operations on my eyes, and one of those had to be at a big teaching hospital nearly two hours away. So things are not always convenient and I had to accept that.

Thanks for your reply. I'm in Scotland, should have mentioned, but glad to hear that it is possible.

NHS Scotland is separate and I work in England sorry. Just ask your GP.

Its to do with the hospital Trusts areas rather than council. I am in one Trust area but am being treated at another. The downside is that if I have to call an ambulance I will be taken to the hospital Im not being treated at as the ambulance area only covers that Trust. This is a big downside for me as my local hospital is not good!