We know how difficult and worrying it can be to wait for a hospital appointment, test or operation. Many of our patients ask us to write a letter to their hospital or consultant asking for their appointment to be "expedited" or moved forward. Some patients tell us that hospital staff have specifically told them to "ask your GP to write a letter."

We want to be upfront with you: our GPs do not write these letters, and we would ask hospital teams not to direct patients back to us for this purpose. 

This page explains why, what we do instead, and what you can do yourself right now to help your own case.

• It doesn't work the way people think it does. A letter from your GP does not carry any special authority to move you up a hospital waiting list. Prioritisation on a waiting list is a clinical decision for the hospital team based on clinical need, not on the existence of a letter. We are simply not the decision-makers, and we don't hold any information about hospital capacity, clinic slots, or internal waiting list management that would let us influence this.

• We are almost always just repeating what you have already told us. In nearly every case, the "update" a patient wants us to pass on — that symptoms have got worse, that the wait is affecting their work, mental health, or family life, or that circumstances have changed since the referral was made — is information only you can give, in your own words. We have no additional clinical information to add that the hospital doesn't already have. A letter written by us on your behalf is, in substance, your voice, not independent medical evidence, so there is no reason it needs to come from a GP rather than from you directly.

• It is not part of our NHS contract, and it takes appointments away from patients who need medical care. Writing, dictating and checking one of these letters typically takes up a GP appointment slot or significant admin time. The British Medical Association's GP guidance is clear that practices have no contractual obligation to take on unresourced, non-clinical work that has been generated elsewhere in the system, and recommends that such work is politely declined and passed back to where it belongs. The Royal College of GPs has separately highlighted "chasing referrals" on patients' behalf as a significant example of hidden, avoidable workload that adds no clinical value and takes GP time away from patients who need a doctor's medical expertise.

• Hospitals should not be asking us to do this. Every hospital and NHS trust has its own outpatient/waiting list team, consultant's secretary, and Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) whose job is exactly this: to handle queries about waiting times and to re-prioritise patients when clinically necessary. If a hospital service has told you to "get a letter from your GP," this is not appropriate, and we would encourage you to say so when you contact them (see below).

• Contact the consultant's secretary or the hospital's outpatient/booking team directly. Explain any change in your symptoms or circumstances and ask them to review your priority on the waiting list.

• Use the NHS App or your hospital's online portal to check the current status of your referral or appointment.

• Contact PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) at the hospital if you're struggling to get a response, or if you want to raise a concern about the length of your wait. Every NHS trust has a PALS team — their contact details are on the hospital's website and on any hospital letters you've received.

• Know your rights. Under the NHS Constitution, most patients have the right to start consultant-led, non-urgent treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks of referral, or to ask to be seen at a different provider if that isn't going to happen. If you're approaching or have passed this point, PALS or the hospital's waiting list team can advise on your options, including treatment at an alternative provider.

• Put it in writing yourself. We've put together a simple downloadable template letter you can fill in and send to the hospital, secretary or PALS team, setting out any change in your problem and why you feel you need to be seen sooner. Because it comes from you, in your own words, it carries exactly the same information a GP letter would have contained — without the delay of waiting for a GP appointment.

For patients to complete and send themselves — this is not written or signed by your GP.

How to use this letter: Copy the text below into a Word document, email, or print it out. Fill in the blank sections in your own words, then send it to the hospital department, your consultant's secretary, or the hospital's PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) team — not to your GP practice. Contact details are usually on any hospital letter you've received, or on the hospital's website. This letter carries the same weight as a letter from your GP, because it contains information only you can provide: how you are doing now, and why you feel your case needs review.

Your details

Full name: _______________________________________________

Date of birth: _______________________________________________

NHS number (if known): _______________________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________

Phone number: _______________________________________________

Email address: _______________________________________________

Today's date: _______________________________________________

Sending to

Hospital / Trust name: _______________________________________________

Department / specialty: _______________________________________________

Consultant's name (if known): _______________________________________________

Address of PALS / outpatients / secretary: _______________________________________________

About your referral

Date of original GP referral: _______________________________________________

Hospital reference / booking reference number (if known): _______________________________________________

Reason you were referred: _______________________________________________

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing about my referral for the reason noted above, made on the date shown, and currently awaiting an appointment / procedure with your department. I would be grateful if you could review my position on the waiting list. My reasons for asking are set out below.

How my problem has changed since I was referred:

Why I feel I need to be seen sooner:

Any other relevant information (e.g. impact on work, caring responsibilities, mobility, mental health):

I would be grateful if you could let me know the outcome of this review, and please contact me using the details above if you need any further information.

Yours faithfully,

Signature: _______________________________________________

Print name: _______________________________________________