Health · England
Asking another doctor
Your browser or device provides the reading voice.
You can ask questions about your care.
You can ask for another medical opinion.
Another clinician can look at your diagnosis or treatment.
This is called a second opinion.
Ask your current doctor to explain your care.
Say what worries you or what you do not understand.
Ask for information you understand.
You can choose someone to support you.
Ask your doctor how to request another opinion.
The NHS does not automatically have to arrange every request.
Ask for reasons if your request is refused.
Ask what other review is possible.
Write your questions and take useful letters.
Ask who looks after your care while you wait.
Do not stop treatment without medical advice.
Another doctor may agree with the first doctor.
PALS is a hospital advice and support service.
Ask them for help with your request.
You can also ask for help making a complaint.
Tell staff immediately if someone is getting worse.
Do not wait for a second-opinion appointment.
Some hospitals have an urgent review called Martha’s Rule.
Ask staff how to use it.
It is not available everywhere yet.
Some mental health treatment needs a separate independent doctor’s check.
This doctor is called a SOAD.
Ask an advocate whether this safeguard applies to you.
What you can do next
Use the worksheet to explain your questions.
Get urgent help if someone becomes more unwell.
Prepare a request for another opinion Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- Royal Free London NHS: asking for a second opinion Web page
Referral routes, limits, waiting, continuing care and urgent treatment; approved July 2026.
- NHS England: Martha’s Rule Web page
Rapid review for deterioration; local contact numbers and phased implementation during 2026/27.
- CQC: rights around treatment under the Mental Health Act Web page
Separate statutory safeguards and the role of a Second Opinion Appointed Doctor.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Asking for another medical opinion
Prepare questions, request another view and understand urgent review and mental health safeguards.
Children and adults · NHS healthcare in England
What a second opinion does
A second opinion is another suitable healthcare professional’s view of a diagnosis, tests or treatment options. It can help answer questions or explore a disagreement. It may confirm the first opinion. It does not automatically transfer care to a new doctor or guarantee a particular treatment. Explain what you want clarified so the referral answers the right question.
Start with an accessible explanation
Ask the existing clinician to explain the evidence, uncertainty, options, possible benefits and harms in a way you understand. You can ask for Easy Read, pictures, a longer appointment, an interpreter or a chosen supporter. A learning disability is not a reason to dismiss symptoms or exclude the person from decisions. A hospital learning disability liaison nurse may help staff make the appointment accessible.
How to ask
Tell the treating clinician or GP that you want a second opinion and why. Ask how the local referral process works and whether a different specialist team is appropriate. In mental health care, the GP, mental health professional, care coordinator or key worker may help arrange this. Ask for the request and response to be recorded and for an accessible copy of the referral or plan.
Understand the limits
Professional guidance says doctors should respect a patient’s wish to seek another opinion, but this is not an automatic legal entitlement to any NHS-funded opinion or treatment requested. Clinical need, the relevant pathway and referral arrangements matter. If a request is refused, ask for the reasons, what other review is possible and who can reconsider it. A new assessment may involve waiting and travel.
Prepare useful information
Write your main questions and the outcome you hope for. Bring the current treatment plan, a medicine list, relevant letters and a short account of symptoms or changes. Ask the referring team to share relevant test results so unnecessary repetition can be avoided. Explain the person’s usual communication, health and level of functioning; identify whose observations are whose. You do not need to prove a diagnosis yourself.
Agree safe care while waiting
Ask who remains responsible, whether waiting could cause harm and what to do if symptoms change. Keep taking prescribed treatment unless a clinician advises otherwise. Do not postpone urgent care simply to obtain a different opinion. Ask the second team to explain its findings, send a report and clarify whether any proposed transfer of care has actually been agreed.
If your request is not being heard
Ask the service’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service, usually called PALS, to help resolve communication or referral problems. You can use the NHS complaints process and ask for free independent NHS complaints advocacy. A complaint can seek an explanation or review, but does not guarantee a different clinical conclusion. Keep dates, requests and replies, and say which adjustments were missing.
Martha’s Rule is for deterioration
If a hospital patient is getting worse, tell the ward team immediately and explain the changes. Where Martha’s Rule operates, a patient, family member or carer whose concerns are not being addressed can contact the hospital’s dedicated number for rapid review by another team. This is an urgent safety route, not an ordinary second opinion about a stable condition. Ask staff or check ward posters for the local number.
Check local Martha’s Rule availability
As at 1 November 2026, implementation is still phased. NHS England expects full implementation across acute inpatient services during 2026/27. It is not yet available in every hospital area or setting, and there is no single national number. If it is unavailable, keep escalating deterioration to the nurse in charge and senior clinical team immediately. Outside hospital, use NHS 111 for urgent advice or 999 for a life-threatening emergency.
A separate Mental Health Act safeguard
A Second Opinion Appointed Doctor, called a SOAD, is an independent psychiatrist appointed through the Care Quality Commission in specified Mental Health Act treatment situations. This safeguards some people who do not, or cannot, agree to treatment. It is different from asking to choose another doctor. The approved clinician, or someone acting on their instruction, requests it. Ask the team or an Independent Mental Health Advocate whether the safeguard applies.
When the patient is a child or needs decision support
Ask clinicians to communicate directly with the person and include their views in an age-appropriate way. The legal rules depend on age, understanding and the particular decision; family involvement does not replace the person’s own rights. If there is serious disagreement about consent or treatment, ask the service to explain its process and seek appropriate advocacy or legal advice promptly.
Words you could use
“I would like another medical opinion about this diagnosis or treatment. Please explain the referral process, record my request, and agree safe care and communication support while I wait.”
More useful links
- Royal Free London NHS: asking for a second opinion Web page
Referral routes, limits, waiting, continuing care and urgent treatment; approved July 2026.
- NHS England: Martha’s Rule Web page
Rapid review for deterioration; local contact numbers and phased implementation during 2026/27.
- CQC: rights around treatment under the Mental Health Act Web page
Separate statutory safeguards and the role of a Second Opinion Appointed Doctor.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 1 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- Royal Free London NHS: asking for a second opinion Web page
Referral routes, limits, waiting, continuing care and urgent treatment; approved July 2026.
- NHS: mental health assessments Web page
Asking for another opinion and getting help if a request is refused.
- NHS England: reasonable adjustments Web page
Accessible information, communication, time and practical changes to healthcare.
- NHS England: Martha’s Rule Web page
Rapid review for deterioration; local contact numbers and phased implementation during 2026/27.
- CQC: rights around treatment under the Mental Health Act Web page
Separate statutory safeguards and the role of a Second Opinion Appointed Doctor.
- CQC: requesting a Second Opinion Appointed Doctor Web page
A request must come from the approved clinician or someone acting on their instruction.
- NHS: the Mental Capacity Act Web pageFuller information
Decision-specific capacity, support to decide, best interests and least restrictive care.
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