Around a quarter of patient referrals to hospitals are being rejected and returned to GPs, a poll has found.
More than a third of the so-called bouncebacks that doctors received asked them to do work considered outside their remit. Some GPs are now raising concerns that this is creating delays for suspected cancer patients.
In the survey of 712 GPs by healthcare magazine Pulse, doctors estimated that 26 per cent of referrals were returned under the category of advice and guidance (A&G) – even though this was not requested.
A&G is designed for GPs to seek specialist advice before making referrals, but these
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