GPs to get £20 when they seek guidance on referrals in bid to cut waiting lists
GPs are to be paid a £20 fee for each call they make to a hospital specialist seeking to speed up treatment as part of a new drive to cut England’s elective care waiting lists. The government launched its elective care reform plan on 6 January,12 in which it set out details of payments to GPs who use the existing advice and guidance (A&G) scheme when trying to refer patients for further treatment. Under an “expansion” of the A&G scheme, GPs will discuss with a hospital specialist the most appropriate place for a patient to be treated—in a hospital or a primary or community care setting—which might avoid the need for a patient to join an elective care waiting list. The A&G scheme, …
