Patients still getting stuck in NHS referral ‘black hole’ despite improvements

Credit: Getty Images/georgeclerk

By Emma Wilkinson

One in seven patients are still getting stuck in a referrals “black hole” between GPs and secondary care, a report from Healthwatch England has concluded.

The figures have improved since the last survey by the watchdog in 2023 when more than one in five patients reported being left in limbo due to a delay in the referral being sent, or the referral being lost, rejected or not being done in the first place.