• Thousands more people have been directed straight to specialist care by their GP thanks to ‘Advice and Guidance’ Scheme
• 99% of GPs now registered for the scheme, which stops patients from ending up on waiting lists unnecessarily
• Part of the Plan for Change, the common-sense approach means patients get the seen quicker, waiting lists are cut, and doctors benefit

More than 113,000 patients were kept off NHS waiting lists in April thanks to a common-sense government scheme that enables GPs to get specialist advice directly, new data shows.

The “Advice and Guidance” scheme allows family doctors to swiftly contact hospital specialists for expert guidance on patient cases. This stops patients joining hospital waiting lists unnecessarily, and enables them to be redirected to appropriate treatment in the community.

Under the scheme, GPs are able to contact hospital specialists electronically for clinical advice about patients, speeding up possible referrals.

The scheme has been backed by £80 million, with GP surgeries benefiting from £20 for each referral made under the system.

Nearly all NHS patients are benefiting, with 99% of GP practices now registered for the programme. Financial incentives have supercharged the scheme’s use, with 14% more diversions made in 2024/25 compared with the previous financial year.

Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said: “This is a common-sense approach that sees patients getting seen quicker, with more appropriate, tailored and personalised care. It makes use of expertise already in the health service, and the scheme’s success show our strategy of combining reform and investment is working.

“By supporting GPs with the right incentives and tools, we’re helping more patients get the care they need quickly whilst reducing pressure on our hospitals, and it’s a a win win for the public. Patients aren’t getting stuck on NHS waiting lists when they don’t need to be, and those who do need to be, aren’t stuck waiting behind them. Clinician’s time is getting freed up, and patients are getting appropriate care sooner, meaning they aren’t stuck going back to their GP time and time again.

“Through our 10 Year Health Plan, we’re shifting care from hospital to community settings and modernising our health service to get our NHS working more efficiently.”

NHS England’s Primary Care Medical Director for the North West, Dr Paula Cowan, said: “We’re continuing to develop and improve these initiatives to support a health service that better meets patients’ needs. We are already seeing green shoots from the advice and guidance programme starting to roll out across the North West.

“Where GPs are able to access the advice and expertise of hospital clinicians quickly, patients can be managed in a swift and more joined up way, avoiding unnecessary waits.

“This all aims to support the continued efforts to reduce the number of people on waiting lists for care, by ensuring their needs are managed directly by their doctor.”

The scheme supports the government’s wider mission to rebuild the NHS, with an ambition to increase diversions from elective waiting lists to up to two million by the end of 2025-26.

The Advice and Guidance programme forms part of the government’s Plan for Change, which sets out how mission-led government will get patients seen quicker and make the NHS fit for the future.