Tell us about your GP referral

Why we’re asking

It’s been two years since Healthwatch England’s last research on referrals, which found evidence of a referrals “black hole”. People were left waiting without information or any updates on how their referral was moving forward. And lots of people shared how their referral failed, and they had to revisit their GP or go to busy A&E departments for help.

Two years later, there are still issues with access to specialist care. This new project aims to understand more about what you are experiencing today. 

By sharing your story, you can help highlight what’s working and what’s not, and help Healthwatch England to call for the changes that are still needed to help people get the right care.

What we need from you

If you’ve had a GP referral in the last 12 months, please take a few minutes to share your experience. The survey asks questions about things like:

• How many appointments it took for you to get your referral
• How long you were waiting between your referral and starting your specialist assessment or treatment
• What kind of support you had while you were waiting
• If there were any resources that would have been helpful to you

The survey is completely confidential, but you will have the option to say if you’d be interested in sharing your story with the media.

Most of the questions have free text answers where you can share your experiences in your own words, in as much or as little detail as you like.