Hospital Expedite Letters

Due to increased waiting times for outpatient appointments, GPs have seen a rise in patient requests to “expedite” their appointments. We urge all our patients awaiting hospital appointments to be patient and wait to be contacted.

Patients are often requested by the Hospital to obtain a letter from the GP so their appointment can be expedited. This is frustrating for you and for us and rarely results in your appointment being brought forward. If your condition has worsened and you feel you need to be seen sooner than other patients on the waiting list, this is not something a GP can measure – only the hospital can compare your needs with those other patients on their waiting list.

We are unable to write letters to expedite your appointment for this reason.

As a GP practice, we are not notified of any waiting times for clinics or provided with hospital hotline numbers. If your appointment has been delayed, please contact your consultant secretary for any updates. If you are waiting for your first appointment with a consultant and have not heard for a long time, please contact the outpatient department in the first instance and then the consultant secretary.

If you have been unable to contact outpatients or the hospital secretary, please contact PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service).

If you are experiencing worsening of your symptoms, we advise you to contact your specialist directly so they can assess your condition. If you need interim management or feel acutely unwell, please contact our practice and our clinical team will try our best to help you. However, we will not be able to write a letter of expedition.