Thousands of patients in England at risk as GP referrals vanish into NHS ‘black hole’
One in seven people in England who need hospital care are not receiving it because their GP referral is lost, rejected or delayed, the NHS’s patient watchdog has found.Three-quarters (75%) of those trapped in this “referrals black hole” suffer harm to their physical or mental health as a result of not being added to the waiting list for tests or treatment.Communication with patients is so unreliable that seven in 10 (70%) only discover they have not been put on a waiting list after chasing up the NHS because they have not been told a hold-up has occurred.In some cases referrals that GPs have agreed to make do not even get sent from their surgery to the hospital, Healthwatch England’s findings show.The research found that 14% of all referrals are getting “stuck” between GPs and hospitals, leaving patients in the dark and anxious about when they will be seen and treated.
Chris McCann, Healthwatch’s deputy chief executive, said: “Behind every delayed, lost or rejected referral is a human story of pain, stress and uncertainty.“While improvements have been made, too many people remain stuck in this referral ‘black hole’, telling us that they’re ‘existing not living’ due to delays.”Rachel Power, the chief executive of the Patients Association, said the findings were “deeply alarming” and that delays to referrals can leave some patients afraid to leave their home.“When seven out of 10 people only find out their referral failed because they chased it up themselves, something is badly wrong.“These are people already anxious about their health, already stressed waiting for treatment – and then they discover they weren’t even in the queue.
While they wait, their conditions could be getting worse,” said Power.Healthwatch’s findings are based on a YouGov survey of a nationally representative sample of 2,622 adults in England whom a GP had referred for tests or treatment in the last year.They raise questions about how accurate the NHS waiting list is as a true reflection of the number of people who need care – 6.24 million people are waiting for 7.39 million tests or treatments – and how good the service is at keeping patients informed about the progress of their referral.
Just over half (53%) of people referred seek medical help or advice while they wait for the NHS to act, the survey found.While 7% go private, one in five (20%) asks for help from other parts of the NHS, such as a different GP or urgent care services.“These results suggest that referral delays may increase pressure on other NHS services”, the report noted.Sign up to Headlines UKGet the day’s headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morningafter newsletter promotionOne patient – Patrick, 70, an ex-NHS worker from Milton Keynes – told the watchdog how he had been waiting since July to see a specialist about pain in his hip and back.After his GP referred him he heard nothing about when he would be seen.
He said: “When I rang they were nice on the phone but they couldn’t give me any good news.It could be as long as a year before I get an appointment, and that’s just to take the first step in a long process.”His pain has become so bad he struggles with daily tasks such as shopping, driving or even putting on his shoes.He does not know when he will be seen.“I feel like I’m stuck in limbo,” he added.
The 14% of people whose referral gets lost, rejected or denied is an improvement on the 21% who experienced the same fate when the watchdog undertook similar research in 2023,Since then ministers and health service chiefs have tried to tackle the problem by making it easier for patients to track the progress of their referral via the NHS app and using pharmacies to help people with suspected cancer,“Yet, despite progress, many patients still report that poor communication, delays and uncertainty caused by long waits are affecting their health, wellbeing and ability to work,” Healthwatch said,One in four (23%) people are dissatisfied with the referrals process, it found,Public satisfaction with the NHS generally has fallen to just 21% – the lowest level – the most recent British Social Attitudes survey found.
A Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesperson said the situation revealed by the findings was “not acceptable”.But improvements have been made since the research was done in March, the spokesperson added.They include the introduction in September of Jess’s rule, under which GPs are meant to seek a second opinion if they cannot diagnose a patient’s illness after three appointments.The DHSC is putting an extra £1.1bn into general practice, recruiting more family doctors and cutting red tape so GPs can spend more time with patients, the spokesperson added.
Family doctors are also now encouraged to seek “advice and guidance” from specialist hospital doctors about referrals.Patient satisfaction with primary care has risen from 60% in July 2024 to 75%.The DHSC spokesperson said: “We have been clear that it will take time to turn around the NHS but we are starting to see improvements.There’s still a long way to go but we are beginning to see the green shoots of recovery.”
Lewis Hamilton to ‘unplug from matrix’ after worst season of F1 career at Ferrari
A despondent Lewis Hamilton said he could not wait to get away from Abu Dhabi after enduring what has been the worst season of his Formula One career. He finished in his lowest ever championship position of sixth place and is looking forward to the winter break and disconnecting from the sport as he attempts to reset and regroup.In the final race of the season in he qualified in 16th place and finished in eighth, while the young British driver Lando Norris claimed his first world championship, the first Briton since Hamilton last did so in 2020.“I can’t wait to get away from all this,” Hamilton said afterwards as he faced the media. “Every week, photoshoots and all that kind of stuff
Standing up for Alex Carey, undoubtedly the finest wicketkeeper in world cricket right now | Brendan Foster
Just after lunch on the fourth day of the Centenary Test at the MCG in 1977, the classroom speaker at my Perth primary school crackled into life with the muffled voices of the ABC radio.Our teacher demanded we stop what we were doing because history was about to be made. Perhaps Queen Elizabeth, who was in Australia on her Silver Jubilee tour of the Commonwealth, was about to address her colonial subjects with a momentous announcement?A thunderous bluster from the tiny speaker filled the room as the teacher proudly declared that Rod Marsh had just become the first Australian wicketkeeper to score a Test century against England.The pugnacious Western Australian, who had the reckless bravery of a bare-knuckle fighter at a travelling agricultural show, revolutionised world cricket because he was the first player to be selected for Australia for his batting ability rather than his glovework. It’s a template that most cricketing nations have been copying ever since, with varying degrees of success
Packers edge Bears and Bills topple Bengals in thriller: NFL week 14 as it happened
(2-11) Las Vegas Raiders 17-24 Denver Broncos (11-2)(3-10) Arizona Cardinals 17-45 Los Angeles Rams (10-3)(9-3-1) Green Bay Packers 28-21 Chicago Bears (9-4)Big shift in the NFC with these results. LA take over at the top of the conference with an absolute rout of Arizona while Green Bay jump to the top of the NFC North above Chicago as the Bears just fall short. Goodnight!Green Bay Packers 28-21 Chicago BearsNot like this, not like this! Chicago go for it all on 4th down as Williams rolls out on the boot leg to the left but he under throws the pass straight into the arms of Keisean Nixon. Game over.Packers 28-21 Bears 0:27, 4th quarterOn 3rd down in the red zone Monangai gets the hand off but is short! Huge play by the Green Bay defense to stop him
Lando Norris proud of winning first F1 drivers’ championship ‘my way’
Lando Norris said he is proud of the way he went about winning his first Formula One world championship, stating after an emotional celebration with his McLaren team and family that he was glad he “won it my way”.Norris emphasised that he felt he had raced fairly and without being overly aggressive, an approach for which he has received criticism in not demonstrating the much eulogised “killer instinct”, which he believes he has proved is not necessary by claiming the title.Norris finished in third at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, enough to secure the world drivers’ championship by two points from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who won the race but could not overcome Norris’s 12-point advantage.The 26-year-old Briton has been explicit all season that he felt he could win the title and still drive clean, and he felt he had made his point.“That’s one of the things that makes me most proud,” Norris said
Britain’s Norris pips Verstappen to win maiden F1 world title after third place in Abu Dhabi – as it happened
Time to wave the chequered flag on today’s live blog, and a thrilling F1 season. I’ll leave you with Giles’ Richards race report. Thanks for joining me – see you in March for the Australian Grand Prix. Bye!And here’s Oscar Piastri, who won four of the first six races but ultimately came up short. “We gave it everything, a bit of a gamble on strategy to try and win the race and the championship
Steel, courage and a sense of humour: how Lando Norris claimed his first F1 title | Giles Richards
“Just want to go have a burger and go home,” was the disconsolate entreaty from Lando Norris when he felt his Formula One world championship hopes had taken a mortal blow after he failed to finish at the Dutch Grand Prix in August. Yet it was testament to the resolution he has shown all season that while down he was far from out, as he proved in going on to claim the title that he felt had slipped away.When Norris took the world championship with his third‑place finish in Abu Dhabi on Sunday he became the first British champion since Lewis Hamilton took his last title in 2020 and, similar to Hamilton for his first win in 2008, he had to show his absolute determination to close it out after a rollercoaster ride for the 26-year-old.Quite apart from what has been a gruelling test of his driving ability across a season marked by intense competition, the level of emotional and psychological control that Norris has had to demonstrate must not be underestimated.He had gone in as favourite back in Melbourne for the opening race but for great swathes of this season he has been under the cosh
Paramount Skydance makes $108.4bn bid for Warner Bros Discovery, challenging Netflix’s offer – business live
Bank of England cutting jobs as part of overhaul after critical Bernanke review
Social media use damages children’s ability to focus, say researchers
‘It has to be genuine’: older influencers drive growth on social media
McCullum’s ‘overprepared’ Ashes blunder may prove England’s Bazball epitaph
Gabba dramas show why pink-ball Tests are here to stay – and could save the format