Patients to be given right to self-refer

For the first time, patients are to be given the right to seek treatment on the NHS for muscular aches and pains, speech difficulties and nutritional advice without going through their GP.

In a boost to patient choice, ministers are removing the GP "gatekeeper" role and allowing patients to refer themselves directly to physiotherapists, speech experts, dieticians and podiatrists who treat foot problems.

Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, is due to announce the concession in a speech to the Chief Health Professions Officers conference in London today in an attempt to end the "unnecessary hoop jumping" involved in seeing a doctor first.

But therapists warned that the move would lead to increased demand and longer waiting lists.

The GP's role as gatekeeper, controlling access to the hospital service, is unique to the NHS and widely praised internationally for curbing over-treatment and keeping costs down. But it is unpopular with patients who demand the right as consumers to seek treatment where they choose.

Mr Johnson said research showed that self-referral resulted in patients getting quicker treatment, being more likely to complete the course and to attend for follow-up appointments. There was also less work absence and higher levels of satisfaction, he added.

In his speech today, he will say: "I am giving the green light to physiotherapists, podiatrists and all allied health professionals [physiotherapists, speech therapists, dieticians, podiatrists] that they can accept patients who self-refer. Services provided by allied health professionals play a vital part in building a society that is fair and inclusive.

"Podiatry, for example, is a vital service for older people as it improves their mobility, ensuring they are not unnecessarily confined to their homes.

"Self-referral will help both vulnerable members of society and those with busy lives by providing quicker access without the unnecessary hoop-jumping of going to see a doctor first."

Measures to help the introduction of self-referrals will be announced next month, but the implementation will be down to individual health trusts.

The Department of Health said the number of allied health professionals had increased by more than a third in the past 10 years, from 56,333 in 1997 to 76,928 in 2007.

Self-referral has been piloted by some primary care trusts. City and Hackney PCT has used walk-in sessions as a first point of contact for children under five with speech problems. Ports-mouth City Teaching PCT has allowed the elderly and vulnerable to self-refer for podiatry services.