How to ensure ‘advice and guidance’ works for patients (HSJ, 9 April 2026)

Summary

Advice and guidance (A&G) enables dialogue between specialists and GPs before a referral is made. The aim is to ensure patients are managed in the right setting and to avoid unnecessary hospital referrals.

A&G was first introduced as a formal pathway in 2015, so the concept itself is not new. However, its prominence as a policy lever is.

The GP Contract 2026/27 outlines that GPs will be required to use A&G “prior to or in place of a planned care referral where clinically appropriate”. The Neighbourhood Health Framework goes further, stating an aim to achieve a “diversion rate of at least 25 per cent by March 2027 for at least 10 high-volume specialties”.

This has not come without debate. Wes Streeting recently published a blog to “set out the facts” following media coverage alleging that A&G targets may lead to rationing of care.

Transparency will be critical to evaluate whether increased use of A&G leads to better experiences and outcomes, says William Pett in this HSJ article.