It is pleasing to see the introduction of the initiative known as Jess’s Rule, brought in on 23rd September 2023 by the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England.
The initiative follows the tragic death of Jessica Brady, who sadly passed away from cancer in December 2020 at just 27 years old.
In the 5 months before she died, Jessica attended her GP surgery on 20 occasions complaining of various symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting and weight loss. She was repeatedly reassured that because she was young, it was unlikely that there was anything seriously wrong with her and that she was probably suffering from long COVID.
In November 2020, Jessica’s family paid for her to see a private consultant. She was then diagnosed with terminal cancer (stage 4 adenocarcinoma). By this time, the disease was so progressed that only palliative care could be offered. Jessica passed away around 3 weeks later, shortly before Christmas.
Jess’s Rule: “Three strikes and rethink”
Since her death, Jessica’s family have campaigned for primary care staff to elevate a patient’s case for review when they have been seen on three occasions complaining of the same symptoms/condition, without any progress in identifying the underlying cause.
The aim of Jess’s rule is to encourage GP teams to “reflect, review and rethink” if a patient presents three times with the same symptoms or concerns, particularly if symptoms worsen or do not improve.
Under the initiative, clinicians treating patients like Jessica should now:
- “Reflect” namely review what the patient had previously told them and consider whether anything has changed or has been missed. If a patient had not been seen face to face, a face to face appointment should be offered
- “Review” namely seek a review from another GP in the surgery and review any red flag symptoms regardless of a patient’s age and/or demographic.
- “Rethink” namely refer the patient onwards for further investigations and/or secondary care input.
It is hoped that Jess’s Rule will help avoid tragic, preventable deaths and support earlier diagnosis of potentially life-threatening illnesses.
If you have any concerns regarding the treatment received from your GP practice please do not hesitate to contact Jo Fitchett in our clinical negligence team in St Austell on 01726 879333 or email jlf@nalders.co.uk.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.