NHS to make all referrals digital in a bid to cut the number of missed patient appointments

The system will come into force on 1st October

The NHS is working on plans to roll out an electronic referrals service, and to make its use mandatory, in a bid to help GP surgeries and hospitals slash the number of missed appointments.

On Tuesday, NHS Digital confirmed that it will launch an e-referrals platform by the end of the year. When it comes into force, outpatient referrals will be processed electronically.

Currently, when GPs schedule appointments for patients to see specialists about particular health conditions, most of them must go through a time-consuming, paper-based system.

However, in the near future, doctors will be obliged to book appointments through the NHS's new e-Referral Service (e-RS). It will be rolled out to health professionals on 1 October.

And three weeks ago, NHS Digital interim boss Eve Roodhouse announced that it would begin making it compulsory for doctors to adopt electronic referrals.

"Achieving paper switch off will be a significant milestone for e-RS and we are absolutely committed to supporting trusts to make the switch to only using e-referrals as smooth and successful as possible," she said.

She continued: "We are determined to achieve a step change in the adoption and use of our digital technology solutions for the benefit of patients."

According to NHS Digital, many trusts have already set deadlines to implement the new electronic referrals service before it rolls out in October.

It is estimated that the level of missed appointments will be reduced from 10 per cent to five per cent. The NHS first unveiled the system in June 2015, replacing the the Choose and Book system.

But up until now, adoption has not been compulsory, and only 52 per cent of NHS institutions (around 19 trusts) have utilised the platform.

Steve Firman, who runs the programme, said: "Fully switching to electronic referrals will have benefits right across the NHS, from cutting the burden on clinicians' time as well as giving patients more choice of date, time and location of their appointments."