What the Right to Choose actually is — and why few people use it
It sounds like a slogan, but it’s a genuine legal right under the NHS in England. When your GP (or another referrer, like a dentist or optometrist) decides you need to be referred for planned, non-urgent treatment — say an orthopaedic clinic, a scan, a mental health service or an outpatient appointment — in most cases you get to say where you go, not the surgery.
You can choose any provider in England that holds an NHS standard contract for the service you need. Importantly, that includes independent and private providers delivering NHS-funded care — and because it’s NHS-funded, the treatment is still free at the point of use. The Right to Choose is about who delivers your NHS care, not about paying privately. The only conditions are that the choice is clinically appropriate (your referrer agrees it’s suitable) and that you’re being referred for the kind of planned care the right covers.
Most people never use it for a simple reason: they’re never offered it. The default is often the nearest hospital, and unless you ask, the referral is sent there. Knowing the right exists is the whole game.
Using it to cut your waiting time
This is the headline use. Waiting times vary enormously between hospitals — sometimes by months for the same routine procedure. The Right to Choose lets you compare and pick a provider with a shorter queue, even if it’s further away.
- Compare before you commit. When you’re offered options at referral, you can look at the expected waiting time for each. You can also check and compare typical waits on the NHS website (the “My Planned Care” service publishes average waits for hospitals).
- You can ask to move if you’ll wait too long. You have a right to ask to be referred to a different provider if you’re likely to wait longer than the maximum waiting time — generally 18 weeks from referral to the start of non-urgent treatment, or 2 weeks to see a specialist for suspected cancer.
- Already referred and waiting? You don’t have to start again at the GP. Contact the service currently in charge of your care and ask to exercise your choice to be moved to a provider with a shorter wait.
The choice is yours, on your terms
You can choose on whatever matters most to
you — waiting time, location, transport, reputation, clinical performance, parking, or visiting policies. A provider further away with a much shorter wait is a perfectly valid choice. Our
waiting list guide covers what else you can do while you wait.
Where the right doesn’t apply
The Right to Choose covers planned (elective) referrals. It does not apply in these situations — and that’s by design, usually because speed or safety comes first:
| Situation | Why choice doesn’t apply |
|---|
| Emergency & urgent care | You’re treated by the nearest appropriate service — speed matters more than choice |
| Maternity services | Run under their own arrangements, not the planned-referral choice right |
| Suspected cancer (2-week route) | The urgent 2-week-wait pathway prioritises being seen fast over picking a provider |
| Some mental health crisis services | Urgent and crisis mental health care is arranged for speed, not choice |
| Prisons & armed forces, detained patients | People in prison, secure services, or detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 are excepted |
| Choosing your treatment | The right is about where you’re treated, not what treatment you get |
A few specialist or low-evidence treatments may also need prior approval from your local NHS (your Integrated Care Board) before a provider can accept the referral. If you’re unsure whether your referral qualifies, ask your GP — they’ll tell you whether choice applies.
England only — plus a safety note
The Right to Choose is an England right. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own NHS systems with different rules on choosing where you’re treated. And to be clear: this page is about your rights navigating NHS referrals — it is not medical advice. For urgent symptoms, call NHS 111; in a life-threatening emergency call 999.
How to ask — and how to book
- Speak up at the point of referral. When your GP says they’re referring you, say you’d like to choose where you go and ask them to talk through the options. You should be offered a choice and a chance to discuss it.
- Compare your options. Look at expected waiting times and anything else that matters to you. You can check published waits on the NHS website.
- Book through the NHS e-Referral Service. Often you can book there and then at the surgery, or online afterwards using the shortlist of hospitals or services in your referral request letter.
- Switch if you’ve already been referred. Contact the service currently handling your care and ask to be moved to a different provider — you don’t need a fresh GP appointment.
- If a GP won’t discuss it, you can raise it again, ask the practice, or take it up with your local NHS through the NHS complaints route — being offered choice at referral is your right.
Do this now
Got a planned referral coming, or already waiting? Ask your GP (or the service handling your care) to discuss your choice of provider — and specifically ask which option has the shortest wait.
Stuck on a long list already? See what else you can do with our NHS waiting list guide, and check you’re registered with a GP so referrals can happen smoothly.
Don’t confuse this with paying privately
Choosing a private provider under the Right to Choose is free — it’s NHS-funded care delivered by an independent clinic. That is completely different from paying out of your own pocket for private treatment. If anyone tells you that you must pay to “skip the queue” through this right, that’s wrong — your NHS care stays free at the point of use.