Exclusive A GP's refusal to refer patients via Choose and Book will be at the centre of a BBC drama this week, triggering a sit in protest by patients and a ‘dressing down' from colleagues.
Pulse has learnt the Connecting for Health referral system makes its debut in an episode of BBC One soap ‘Doctors' tomorrow, with character Dr Kevin Tyler failing to refer patients through Choose and Book.
According to plot previews published by the Digital Spy, a patient stages a sit in protest in the soap's The Mill surgery until Dr Tyler refers her to a specialist using Choose and Book. After learning of Dr Tyler's failure to use Choose and Book, his colleague Dr Julia Parson gives him a ‘dressing down' and ‘berates him for neglecting his duties,' Digital Spy reports.
Connecting for Health told Pulse that they believed Dr Tyler eventually makes amends for ignoring the system and ‘learns the process properly'.
The plot marks the second time Choose and Book has appeared in a mainstream soap opera. The first was in Eastenders, where a character burned her printed referral slip in the midst of a breast cancer scare.
A Connecting for Health spokesperson said: ‘Choose and Book has gained mainstream acceptance and is set for its second appearance in a BBC One soap next week'.
