Contacting patient advice and liaison service
If you are unable to manage your appointment satisfactorily using the NHS e-referral service and contacting the hospital directly, then you can contact the PALS team associated with the hospital you have been referred to. Their contact details can be found under Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and other support

Community services referrals (including to the physiotherapy team)
Once a referral has been completed by a GP practice (if a self-referral route is not available) then the organisation you have been referred to takes over full responsibility for this referral including any follow up appointments. If you have any issues including around delays in appointments or needing to change an appointment you should contact the organisation directly. There is further information including contact details for some of the common local community services under NHS community services (Adults) and NHS Community services (Children).

Waiting times and operation information
You can find local hospital outpatient waiting times and information on the operations/ procedures they undertake, see under

• Hospital

If you require more prolonged treatment (such as surgery) remember if you do choose a hospital further away than your local hospital that if you decide to switch back to your local hospital this is not a quick process and can disrupt your treatment.

Early diagnosis of a disease may mean more effective treatment and better outcomes. For this reason, where there is a possibility that symptoms could indicate cancer, people are referred urgently to see a specialist (on what is called a ‘two-week pathway’). The great majority of people referred this way do not have cancer, but it is important to see a specialist as soon as possible to confirm or exclude a cancer diagnosis.

This is explained further under Urgent Referral to Exclude Cancer. This includes information on what to expect and who to contact if there are any issues with getting the appointment within 2 weeks. There are also links to other support available.

Under Conditions which may not be funded on the NHS all the treatments which may not be funded under the NHS are included. To search all the treatments considered “low priority” look under “What treatments are usually not funded” in the frequently asked questions section.