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Expedite Letter Requests

Last Updated: Thursday, 30 January 2025

Expediting Your Hospital Appointment

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant delays and cancellations of outpatient appointments within the NHS.  Consequently, many patients awaiting consultations or treatments have experienced prolonged waits.

If your symptoms have worsened while waiting for your hospital appointment, the agreement with the health authority is that you should contact the hospital directly.  The consultant will then assess your updated symptoms and decide on the appropriate course of action.

Hospital secretaries may sometimes advise patients to contact their GP for an "expedite letter" to prioritise appointments.  However, this approach rarely results in an earlier appointment and unnecessarily takes up a GP appointment that could be used for another patient in need.

Hospitals are better equipped to prioritise patients based on the severity of their symptoms and the overall waiting lists.

To assist you in communicating changes in your referral status, we have prepared two example letters for your use:

  1. For patients awaiting their first specialist appointment
  2. For patients awaiting a follow-up appointment, treatment, or surgery

Important Note

Westway Medical Centre does not book appointments for expedite letter requests.  It is your responsibility to contact the relevant hospital department, appointments team, or consultant's secretary to follow up on the outcome of your request.

Querying Wait Times for Your Appointment 

If you wish to query the waiting times for the department to which you have been referred, you will need to contact the hospital's appointments team or the secretaries at the department directly.  We do not have access to the hospital systems to check wait times and are not provided with up-to-date information regarding delays for individual clinics.

Contact Information for Local Hospitals and Support Services

When sending your letters or contacting the hospital, address it to either the Outpatient Appointments department (for initial consultations) or directly to your consultants secretary (for follow-up care).  Below are the links to the contact details of local hospitals and support services:

Liverpool University Hospitals Patient Advice and Complaints Team (PACT)

The PACT team is available to help with queries, concerns, or complaints regarding your care.

Merseyside and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Patient and Liaison Service (PALS)

The PALS team offers confidential advice, support, and assistance with concerns about your hospital care.

Alder Hey Children's Hospital Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

PALS help the NHS to improve services by listening to what matters to patients and their families, and making changes when appropriate.

Alternatively, you can submit a ''Contact PALS'' form using the above website link.

Westway Medical Centre is committed to providing you with the support and recourses needed during these challenging times.