Solving the maze

A joint project by the RCGP and the Patients Association

A woman with short hair and a man sitting parallel to her looking into the distance.

For many people, accessing care through general practice can feel like opening the door to a maze. Equally, GPs find themselves in a tangled web of administrative burdens, mounting time pressures and are navigating a maze of referrals to get patients specialist help when they need it. That's why we worked together with the Patients Association to highlight how general practice can be made truly accessible and navigable for all.

What needs to change

Read our report

What needs to change

For patients, administrative and procedural barriers can make the NHS feel like a maze of dead ends and detours. At the same time, GPs have been left to grapple with a broken system and in some cases struggling to provide the care their patients deserve. This has led to a system that is confusing, frustrating and demoralising for all parties.

Both GPs and patients feel strongly that something needs to change; that is why we launched this campaign.

We want a general practice that is truly accessible and navigable for all. Our campaign sets out the first steps that should be taken towards achieving that:

1. Every patient should find the NHS easy to navigate

  • The NHS must provide clear and consistent information to support patients as active partners in decisions about their healthcare, including knowing where to go to get help.
  • Patients and GPs must be equal partners in co-designing care pathways so that they reflect their real experiences and needs and are easier for everyone to navigate. Patients with complex health or communication needs must be equally supported to navigate NHS services and participate as partners in decisions about their care.

A woman with dark hair wearing a beige jumper smiles at someone out of shot.

2. Every patient should be able to see their GP when they need to

  • Governments must set out clear plans to train, employ and retain enough GPs so that patients can access care from their GP when they need it, addressing both the workforce numbers, the employment structures and funding models that determine where and how GP’s can work.
  • To make it easier for patients to see a GP who they know and knows them, practices should be resourced to offer continuity of care.

An older man talking to a younger woman

3. Every patient should be able to access their information and track referrals via user-friendly systems

  • Patients and GPs must be equal partners in the design of simpler, user-friendly systems which allow patients to see key information about their care, including being able to easily track specialist referrals. This can only be achieved with significant government investment in systems that are easier to use, better connected, and that reduce administrative burden.
  • A diverse and representative group of patients must be active and equal partners in the co-production and review of the systems, including those who cannot access online systems to mitigate digital exclusion.

A woman smiling at two people standing in front of her.

Read our report

You can read our joint report with the Patient's Association here.

"It shouldn't be this hard": Solving the NHS maze for patients and GPs (PDF file, 323 KB)

Molly's story

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