Greater Manchester GPs keep thousands of patients out of hospital after specialist advice rollout
Thousands of patients across Greater Manchester are being managed without needing to attend hospital, one year after NHS Greater Manchester rolled out rapid specialist advice across all ten localities with Consultant Connect.
A year ago, Greater Manchester was in the bottom quartile nationally for the use of specialist advice before referral. GM had the lowest proportion of pre-referral specialist advice diversion of any of ICBs (2% compared to the national median of 6%), while access varied significantly between localities and specialties.
The pre-referral Advice & Guidance service was rolled out across all 10 Greater Manchester localities in October 2025 as part of NHS Greater Manchester’s work to improve access to specialist advice before referral.
Since then, more than 2,600 clinicians have used Consultant Connect and 92% of Greater Manchester’s 406 GP surgeries are using the service.
GPs and other clinicians have made more than 11,000 calls and sent 10,000 messages to specialists. On average, calls are answered in 34 seconds and messages receive a response within 4 hours. In contrast, responses to written e-RS A&G take seven days on average.
The latest data shows that following specialist advice, 73% of calls to elective specialties and 68% of messages were recorded as enabling patients to continue being managed without an immediate hospital referral.
The rollout forms part of NHS Greater Manchester’s wider elective care reform programme, which aims to strengthen the interface between primary and secondary care, improve access to specialist expertise and support patients to receive the right care, in the right setting, at the right time. A key priority is reducing variation in access to specialist advice across Greater Manchester, while supporting clinicians to make informed decisions about the most appropriate next steps for their patients.
Sanjay Kotegaonkar, GP in Bury, Greater Manchester, said: “Within five minutes, I have a clear way forward — and my patient has certainty. When a patient’s presentation leaves questions about next steps, I know I have direct access to a senior consultant via Consultant Connect who can quickly explain exactly what needs to happen. It makes life so much easier.”
At the heart of the service is Consultant Connect’s National Consultant Network, which lets GPs in Greater Manchester get rapid advice from NHS consultants anywhere in the country. By sharing expertise nationally, local specialists have more time for patients who need hospital care, helping to cut waiting times and make the best use of local resources and funding. This means every patient gets the right advice without necessarily adding pressure to local services.
As the programme moves into its second year, NHS Greater Manchester will build on this progress, with an increasing focus on the quality of specialist advice, patient outcomes and understanding how Advice & Guidance is influencing clinical pathways across the system.
Siân Goodwin, Senior Programme Manager, Elective Care at NHS Greater Manchester, said: “Introducing Consultant Connect has been an important part of our wider ambition to improve how patients access specialist expertise across Greater Manchester. It’s not simply about increasing the use of Advice & Guidance, but about supporting better clinical decision-making, strengthening the relationship between primary and secondary care, and helping patients receive the most appropriate care without needing to attend hospital where this isn’t clinically necessary.
The scale of adoption demonstrates what can be achieved through genuine partnership – not just introducing the technology, but working together across Consultant Connect, the ICB and our localities to embed it in everyday clinical practice and move towards a more consistent offer across Greater Manchester.”
Kat James, Joint Managing Director at Consultant Connect, said: “A year on, what stands out is how quickly specialist advice has become part of everyday clinical practice across Greater Manchester.
“The important measure is what happens to patients. In many cases, a quick conversation or message with a specialist gives a GP the information they need to continue caring for their patient in the community, while those who do need hospital care can be directed to the appropriate pathway.
“Greater Manchester has shown that rapid access to specialist expertise can be introduced across a large and complex health system, while sitting alongside existing Advice & Guidance routes.”
For more information:
If you’d like to find out more about how our services could help your NHS area, email info@consultantconnect.org.uk or call the team on 01865 951 207.
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