NHS England Introduces New Standards to Improve Patient Communication

Patients waiting for planned NHS treatment in England will receive at least three weeks’ notice of appointments under new patient communication standards announced by NHS England.

The measures are designed to improve the experience of patients waiting for hospital treatment, ensuring they receive clearer, more consistent updates throughout their care journey. The new standards aim to address longstanding frustrations around delayed appointment letters, missed communications and uncertainty while on waiting lists.

Better Communication for Patients

Under the new standards, hospitals will be expected to:

• Give patients at least three weeks’ notice of planned appointments wherever possible.
• Confirm when GP referrals have been received and accepted.
• Keep patients updated while they remain on waiting lists.
• Allow people to receive information through their preferred method, including the NHS App, text message or letter.

The changes form part of NHS England’s wider ambition to improve patient experience by making communication more transparent and easier to understand.

Reducing Anxiety While Waiting

For many patients, waiting for treatment can be one of the most stressful parts of their healthcare journey.

Health leaders believe providing regular updates and clearer timelines will help reduce uncertainty, improve confidence in NHS services and minimise missed appointments caused by poor communication. More than 40 million people have now downloaded the NHS App, which is expected to play a key role in delivering many of these updates.

What This Means for Providers

While the standards are aimed primarily at improving patient experience, they are also likely to influence how NHS organisations manage referrals, appointments and waiting lists in the future.

For providers across health and social care, the announcement reflects a growing emphasis on communication as a core part of delivering high-quality care. Alongside efforts to reduce waiting times, ensuring patients feel informed and supported throughout their journey is becoming an increasingly important measure of service quality.

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