Abstract
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.BMA (2023 ) General practice responsibility in responding to private healthcare . Available at: www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/gp-practices/managing-workload/general-practice-responsibility-in-responding-to-private-healthcare (accessed 30 August 2025 ).
2.Cancer Research UK (2025 ) Cancer waiting times . Available at: www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/worried-about-cancer/cancer-waiting-times (accessed 18 November 2025 ).
3.
Davies
P
Pool
R
Smelt
G
(2011 ) What do we actually know about the referral process? The British Journal of General Practice 61 (593 ): 752 –753 . DOI: 10.3399/bjgp11X613278 .
4.General Medical Council (GMC) (n.d.) Delegation and referral – professional standards . Available at: www.gmc-uk.org/professional-standards/the-professional-standards/delegation-and-referral/delegation-and-referral#referral-763AAE2401164170958A72054BEC7FBE (accessed 30 August 2025 ).
5.
Gursul
D
(2022 ) Health information: are you getting your message across? NIHR . DOI: 10.3310/nihrevidence_51109 .
6.
Martineau
J
Knight
J
(n.d.) Improving continuity a toolkit for GP practices . Available at: https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/pluginfile.php/174198/mod_book/chapter/536/Improving%20Continuity%20of%20Care%20Toolkit%20V2.1.pdf?time=1652177755507 (accessed 8 December 2025 ).
7.NHS (2023 ) Health Literacy Toolkit 2nd edition, 2023 . Available at: https://library.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/06/Health-Literacy-Toolkit.pdf (accessed 18 November 2025 ).
8.NHS England (2019 ) Guide to NHS waiting times in England . Available at: www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/hospitals/guide-to-nhs-waiting-times-in-england (accessed 30 August 2025 ).
9.NHS England (2023 ) Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care . Available at: www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/delivery-plan-for-recovering-access-to-primary-care-2/#empowering-patients (accessed 30 August 2025 ).
10.NHS England (2024 ) NHS standard contract 2024/25. General conditions (full length) . Available at: www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/04-NHS-Standard-Contract-2024-to-2025-General-Conditions-full-length-version-1-February-2024.pdf (accessed 8 December 2025 ).
11.NHS England (n.d.) Access to same day emergency care . NHS Choices . Available at: www.england.nhs.uk/urgent-emergency-care/same-day-emergency-care/access-to-same-day-emergency-care (accessed 18 November 2025 ).
12.NHS England Digital (2024 ) [MI] Urgent suspected cancer referrals: Referral, conversion and detection rates, April 2021 to March 2023 . Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mi-urgent-suspected-cancer-referrals-referral-conversion-and-detection-rates/april-2021-to-march-2023 (accessed 30 August 2025 ).
13.NHS England Digital (2025 ) e-Referral service . Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/services/e-referral-service (accessed 30 August 2025 ).
14.NICE (2015 ) Suspected cancer: Recognition and referral NG12 . NICE . Available at: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng12 (accessed 18 November 2025 ).
15.Office for National Statistics (2022 ) Language, England and Wales: Census 2021 . Available at: www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/bulletins/languageenglandandwales/census2021 (accessed 31 August 2025 ).
16.QualityWatch (n.d.) Is cancer diagnosis veering off course? Available at: https://files.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/qualitywatch/cancer-diagnosis (accessed 31 August 2025 ).
17.
Sud
A
Torr
B
Jones
ME
, et al . (2020 ) Effect of delays in the 2-week-wait cancer referral pathway during the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer survival in the UK: a modelling study . The Lancet Oncology 21 (8 ): 1035 –1044 . DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30392-2 .
18.The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity (2021 ) The importance of early diagnosis in cancer . Available at: www.royalmarsden.org/difference-you-make/importance-early-diagnosis-cancer (accessed 31 August 2025 ).