Dr Ian Gargan, PHIN Chief Executive says:
“Transparency in healthcare is so important and that’s why this BBC report about fake reviews is concerning. Planning for an operation can be a stressful time and people need to be able to trust their hospitals and consultants. They should be able to rely on the reviews of other patients when looking into who should treat them.
“We are an independent, not-for-profit, government mandated service and the information we publish on the PHIN website – phin.org.uk – is supplied and verified by the private hospitals and consultants we work with. We do not edit or amend patient feedback in any way, nor do we charge for profiles or have any advertising on our site.
“Our main role is to help people to make a more informed choice when considering which hospital and consultant is right for them.
“We publish information about quality, safety and costs for all hospital-based private healthcare in the UK, including private services in NHS hospitals. You can search for services in your area from our homepage.”
