Due to increasing waiting times for hospital outpatient appointments, General Practitioners have seen a rise in patient requests to “expedite” their appointments.
As a GP surgery, 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 hospital consultant’s 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 hospital’s outpatient booking office through the hospital switchboard in the first instance and then the consultant’s secretary.
If you have been unable to contact outpatients or the secretary, please contact the hospital PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) – contact details can be found on the hospital website.
Written Requests to Expedite Appointments
Patients are often requested by the Hospital to obtain a letter from the GP so their appointment can be expedited.
Please note that waiting a longer time for an appointment does not deem your request urgent. As a result, we are unable to write letters to expedite your appointment.
If you are experiencing worsening of your symptoms, we advise you to contact your specialist directly so they can assess your condition and make the necessary arrangements if an “expedite” of your appointment is appropriate. If you have difficulty in accessing your consultant, we advise you to contact the hospital PALS department for assistance.
However, if the hospital are insistent they require a letter, we have created the below templates for you complete. Letters to expedite are generally best written from the patients perspective rather than providing information second hand to the consultant.
Letter for a first appointment with a specialist
Dear Consultant,
I am awaiting care from you for <Write your original problem here>. I have been referred by my GP at Laurel House Surgery in Tamworth.
I await an appointment and / or treatment but report the following change in my condition since my referral was sent to you:
<Explain briefly what has changed since your referral>
I request that you take the following action
- Review my hospital notes alongside this letter to determine whether my care might be expedited
- Contact me directly to inform me of the outcome of that decision, and my likely wait for further care
- File this letter and document your decision in my medical record.
Letter for a follow-up appointment
Dear Consultant,
I am receiving care from you for <Write your original problem here>.
I await a follow-up appointment and / or treatment but report the following change in my condition since your last contact with me:
<Explain briefly what has changed since your last contact with the specialist>
I request that you take the following action:
- Review my hospital notes alongside this letter to determine whether my care might be expedited
- Contact me directly to inform me of the outcome of that decision, and me likely wait for further care
- File this letter and document your decision in my medical record.
- Once you have completed this, you can post your letter to Outpatient Appointment (first appointments) or your consultant secretary (booked appointments or follow ups).