AN INTERNET survey is to be used for the first time to shape health care policy in York, North Yorkshire and the East Riding.

Internet users in York and across North and East Yorkshire are being given the chance to influence local health care policy from the comfort of their own home or office.

The high tech poll is being carried out jointly by North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Health Authority together with all the primary care trusts within its area.

By logging on to www.yougov.com/neynlhealth local people will be able to have their say on a range of health issues.

The results of the survey will be used to influence the development of local health and social care services.

David Johnson, chief executive of the strategic health authority, said: "It is vital that we understand what kind of health services people want, and how we can continue to improve quality.

"Most polls only target a limited sample of people, but this survey is different - anyone who has access to the internet is welcome to complete the questionnaire."

The web-based survey will initially run as a pilot. If successful it may become a regular tool for testing public opinion alongside other regular methods of opinion gathering.

The online questionnaire has been designed to explore people's views about choice in health care, asking them which health professionals they prefer to see and where they prefer to see them.

It also deals with sensitive issues such as waiting times, how far people are prepared to travel to receive care, and whether they would be prepared to be seen in the evenings and at weekends.

Questions are also asked about the leaflet, Your Guide to Local Health Services, which was delivered recently to every household in the strategic health authority's area.

These will help the local NHS agencies decide what type of information to include in future publications.

Mr Johnson said: "It is important to understand what people expect of local health services and where they would like to see improvements.

"The views of the public are a rich source of information on which we can base future development plans.

"The aim of this pilot scheme is to discover to what extent we can gather feedback and information from people who are online."

Updated: 16:40 Monday, December 30, 2002