Guides
Plain-language explanations of how NHS pathways and patient rights work. Each guide cites the source NHS England, NHS Digital, or NICE document.
How the NHS 18-week RTT pathway works
The Referral-to-Treatment standard explained, what counts as a referral, when the clock starts, and what happens if you wait longer than 18 weeks.
The cancer 2-week-wait pathway
How urgent suspected-cancer referrals work in the NHS, including the 28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard and the 62-day treatment target.
How to interpret CQC inspection ratings
What Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, and Inadequate actually mean, and how to read the five-domain breakdown.
When the NHS pays for private treatment
How exceptional NHS-funded treatment requests, individual funding requests (IFR), and patient-choice route work.
Choose & Book, your right to choose your hospital
How the NHS e-Referral Service works, what choices you can make at the point of GP referral, and how to use waiting-time data in that choice.
How to make an NHS complaint
The two-stage NHS complaints process: local resolution with the Trust, then Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman.
Understanding the A&E 4-hour target
What the 95% admit-or-discharge-in-4-hours standard measures, how Trusts are performing, and what to expect on arrival.
Continuing Healthcare (CHC) eligibility
How NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment works, the Decision Support Tool, and the appeal process if assessed ineligible.
What to do with these guides
Turn pathway rules into a concrete next step on the live registry.
- Start with the 18-week RTT guide, then open a trust profile on the monthly return. RTT guide
- At referral, compare procedure-specific median waits and CQC ratings side by side. Compare trusts
- Browse England trust profiles with within-18 share and waiting-list size. Trust directory
General pathway information only, not medical advice for an individual case.
Download the trust-level RTT extract used alongside these guides: hospitals.csv · open data