In England, you have the right to request to move to a different hospital to receive your care or treatment if you have been waiting longer than 18 weeks.

As the NHS continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, we will be contacting some patients who have been waiting longer than 40 weeks to consider to consider your options to see if you could be seen sooner at a different hospital.

If you are eligible, you will receive a SMS or letter with the option to opt in.

Many patients may be deemed clinically appropriate to move provider. However, not in all circumstances will we be able to identify alternative capacity to facilitate a move.

If you don’t wish to have your care moved, your care will be unaffected, and you will not need to take any further action.

The treatment of all our patients is important to us, and we are working hard to see everyone who is waiting for treatment as quickly as we can.

In most cases, the patient should be told if a new provider has been found or not within eight weeks of starting the process.

If an alternative provider is not identified, the patient will be informed and will remain on the waiting list with their original provider.

A patient’s position on their current waiting list will not be impacted if a new provider isn’t identified.

We are currently inviting patients waiting over 40 weeks and we will continually be reviewing progress.

Not all patients waiting over 40 weeks will be invited to request to move provider.

Patients who have been waiting over 40 weeks and have an appointment date within the next 8 weeks will not be included as it will be quicker for them to remain with their current hospital.

In addition, there may be some patients whose clinical condition means that it would not be appropriate to move provider. This is particularly relevant to patients whose condition is clinically complex.

As part of the process patients will agree to share their details.

No, the patient will be under the care of the chosen provider throughout their whole pathway of care until they are discharged.

This includes any subsequent appointments or treatment.

A telephone assistance line will be provided in any direct communication to eligible patients.

If a patient has been waiting over 18 weeks, they have the right to request to move provider.

If a patient has been waiting over 26 weeks, it is the responsibility of the ICB to make every effort to identify an alternative provider to enable the patient to receive earlier treatment.

This announcement relates to patients who have been waiting over 40 weeks, and meet the eligibility criteria, as they will now be contacted proactively and asked if they would like to move provider if one with a shorter waiting time can be found.

Hospitals will only offer to take forward a patient’s care if they can see them within four weeks. They will not be prioritised over someone already on that hospital's waiting list unless there is a clinical need.

Patients will be contacted directly by text message, letter, or email.

If an offer is made to the patient for a suitable alternative hospital, they can use trusted NHS websites to carry out research before making a decision.

Hospitals have gone through their waiting list to identify and contact all eligible patients. Please do not contact your hospital.