How can we help people self-refer to community health services?

We want to make it easier for people to refer themselves to community health services, without the need to see their GP or other healthcare professional first. We call this 'self-referral'.

Self-referrals help people receiving care to take control of their health, streamline access to services and free up their GP's time.

The NHS has been tasked with increasing self-referrals by September 2023. The plan is to put in place self-referral routes to musculoskeletal services, weight management services (often described as Tier 2 services), community podiatry, falls response services, wheelchair services and community equipment services.

Find out more about the Operational Planning Guidance here.

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