Have you experienced the 'referrals black hole'?
Healthwatch England are calling for more to be done to understand people’s experience of getting a referral.
New research from Healthwatch Enlgand shows it can be very hard for some people to get a GP referral to another NHS service. 368 (21%) people who shared their experience fell into the "referrals black hole". This is defined as a person who has been referred by their GP but then one or more of the following happened:
- 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
Recommendations include:
- More to be done to understand the referral process
- Improve communication with patients
- Invest in NHS admin staff
Find out more about the recommendations made and next steps.
Falling into this 'referrals black hole' is not just frustrating for patients but ultimately means people end up going back to their GP or visiting crowded A&E departments to get the help they need. This adds more burden to already stretched services, making things even harder for the doctors and nurses trying to provide care.
