Movim • Thousands of patients in England at risk as GP referrals vanish into NHS ‘black hole’

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Thousands of patients in England at risk as GP referrals vanish into NHS ‘black hole’

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 7 December 2025

Exclusive: Healthwatch study discovered 14% of cases are not put on hospital waiting lists for treatment GPs requested for them

One in seven people in England who need hospital care are not receiving it because the referral by their GP gets lost, rejected or delayed, the NHS’s own patient watchdog has found.

Three-quarters (75%) of these patients trapped in this “referrals black hole” suffer harm to their physical or mental health as a result of not being added to the waiting list for tests or treatment.

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Thousands of patients in England at risk as GP referrals vanish into NHS ‘black hole’

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 7 December 2025

Exclusive: Healthwatch study discovered 14% of cases are not put on hospital waiting lists for treatment GPs requested for them

One in seven people in England who need hospital care are not receiving it because the referral by their GP gets lost, rejected or delayed, the NHS’s own patient watchdog has found.

Three-quarters (75%) of these patients trapped in this “referrals black hole” suffer harm to their physical or mental health as a result of not being added to the waiting list for tests or treatment.

Th chevron_right

Thousands of patients in England at risk as GP referrals vanish into NHS ‘black hole’

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian • 7 December 2025

Exclusive: Healthwatch study discovered 14% of cases are not put on hospital waiting lists for treatment GPs requested for them

One in seven people in England who need hospital care are not receiving it because the referral by their GP gets lost, rejected or delayed, the NHS’s own patient watchdog has found.

Three-quarters (75%) of these patients trapped in this “referrals black hole” suffer harm to their physical or mental health as a result of not being added to the waiting list for tests or treatment.