A little known rule could save months of time and hundreds of pounds by letting people skip NHS waiting lists - for free.
The NHS aims for 92% of patients to start specialist treatment within 18 weeks of a GP referral, but with staff shortages, backlogs of cases and a lack of equipment and bed capacity, it's not always possible for the NHS to deliver this itself.
Patients referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist at Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust - which runs the Royal Liverpool, Aintree and Broadgreen hospitals - wait an average of 30 weeks just for their first outpatient appointment, according to data provided by the trust to My Planned Care, an NHS website.
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