PATIENTS with long term health conditions or social care needs will be prescribed information personal to their condition, alongside their medication, as part of a new Government initiative. Each information prescription will be individually tailored to a

PATIENTS with long term health conditions or social care needs will be prescribed information personal to their condition, alongside their medication, as part of a new Government initiative.

Each information prescription will be individually tailored to a patient's needs and will include details about conditions and treatments, as well as relevant websites, books and local and national support groups.

The new scheme will mean patients can take the information away with them, helping them to take control of their illness, stay independent and make choices about care.

A spokesman for the East and North Herts Primary Care Trust said: "The exact way in which information prescriptions will work has yet to be finalised but they are likely to be of significant benefit to the estimated 300,000 patients in Hertfordshire living with a long term condition.

"These 'prescriptions' could put patients back in control of their condition by providing information to help them manage their symptoms better and enabling them to make informed choices about the care they receive."

The £1.35 million initiative will run as a trial project until the end of 2007, in partnership with voluntary organisations including Macmillan Cancer Support.

Peter Cardy, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "Macmillan's latest research has shown three quarters of cancer patients wanted information on their medical condition and, sadly, one in six patients were not able to get it. Hopefully information prescriptions will address this unmet need."

The scheme will initially focus on cancer and mental health patients and later on vulnerable older people.

The Government has committed to introducing information prescriptions for all patients with long-term conditions or care needs by 2008.