Are you in the 'referrals black hole'?

The finding suggests potentially serious issues with referral processes. 

GP services are the first point of call for many health issues and the gateway to NHS specialist support. 

GP teams are highly skilled and may decide that treatment without specialist care is the best action. But when you need specialist support, such as hospital tests or treatment, you may need a referral from your GP team first.

The new research highlights that it can be very hard for some people to get a GP referral to another NHS service. And for 21% of people Healthwatch England spoke to, even when they get referrals, they can be lost, rejected or not followed up on.

‘Referrals black hole’

Healthwatch England heard from 1,777 adults in England between September and October last year who had an experience of getting a GP referral within the previous 12 months. Of these, 368 (21%) fell into what they have called the "referrals black hole".

One in five respondents with an experience of a GP referral had fallen into the ‘referrals black hole’.

People experiencing the referrals black hole include anyone who got a referral from their GP but then one of the following occurred:

• The person was referred to the wrong service 
• The person’s referral appointment was cancelled
• The person was taken off the waiting list
• The person didn’t hear anything else about their referral

From people’s feedback, these examples may have occurred due to GP teams not sending referrals, referrals going missing between services, or referrals being either booked or rejected without any communication. 

As a result, the person affected went back to their GP to chase up the referral.  

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