Nuffield Trust: Will specialist advice and guidance reduce the waiting list for planned care as the government hopes? (27 February 2026)

Summary

Increasing the amount of advice and guidance – where hospital specialists provide advice to GPs so that they can manage the patient without a referral to hospital – is a key part of ambitions to bring down NHS waiting lists. Lucina Rolewicz, Stuti Bagri and Sarah Scobie look at whether the target to increase advice and guidance is likely to be met, and what it might mean for those hopes that it will reduce waiting lists.