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Ammi · 23-09-2025, 08:47 AM

Jess’s Rule to prevent avoidable deaths rolled out across GP surgeries…

People with potentially deadly illnesses could be diagnosed sooner thanks to Jess’s Rule, which is being rolled out across England to prevent avoidable deaths, the Government has announced.

GPs will be told to take a “three strikes and rethink” approach to patients who have had three appointments already, to prevent missing serious illnesses such as cancer.

The rule is named after 27-year-old Jessica Brady, an engineer for Airbus, who had repeated GP appointments in the months leading up to her death in 2020.

Ms Brady contacted her GP surgery around 20 times over a six-month period, with symptoms including abdominal pain, coughing, vomiting and weight loss.

She was offered virtual appointments due to Covid restrictions and given numerous medications including antibiotics and steroids.

She was also told she was suffering from long Covid and that she was too young for her symptoms to be anything serious.

Ms Brady was finally diagnosed with cancer that had spread throughout her body – but only after her mother paid for her to see a doctor privately.

She was placed on oxygen and died in hospital three weeks later.

Under the new rule, doctors will be asked to think again if people have already had three appointments for their symptoms with no substantial diagnosis having been made, or symptoms having got worse.

Doctors will be encouraged to consider a second opinion, see people face-to-face for physical examinations, order more tests and make specialist referrals where appropriate.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said many GP practices already used similar approaches in complex cases, but Jess’s Rule would make this standard practice across the country.

The rule has been brought in in partnership with the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) and NHS England.

Jess’s mum, Andrea Brady, who has campaigned for the rule, said: “Jess lived for just three short weeks following her terminal cancer diagnosis.

“Despite her shock and devastation, she showed unfailing courage, positivity, dignity, and love.

“Jess was determined that people should understand how desperately she had tried to advocate for herself and seek a resolution for her declining health.

“In the bleak weeks following the loss of Jess, I realised it was my duty to continue what she had started.

“It has taken nearly five years to bring about Jess’s Rule. I would like to dedicate this initiative to all the young people who have been diagnosed too late.

…full article…

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/jess-rule-...213000598.html

…Jessica Brady died three weeks after she was admitted to hospital in 2020…

MTVN · 23-09-2025, 09:47 AM

Incredibly tragic, I think a lot of people fell through the cracks of getting proper diagnoses during 2020 but 20 appointments is quite shocking. Great determination and courage from her family to get this through

Benjamin · 23-09-2025, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Jessica Brady contacted her GP practice more than 20 times feeling unwell

GPs in England are being urged to "think again" if they see a sick patient three times and can't pin down a diagnosis, or find their symptoms are getting worse.

The new NHS initiative, called Jess's Rule, is named after Jessica Brady who contacted her GP on more than 20 occasions after starting to feel unwell in the summer of 2020.

She was told her symptoms were related to long Covid and that she was "too young for cancer". She died from advanced stage 4 cancer later that year, aged 27.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said her death was "a preventable and unnecessary tragedy" and the rule would improve patient safety by helping GPs "catch potentially deadly illnesses".

'Her body was failing her'

Jessica Brady, from Stevenage, was a talented engineer at Airbus, involved in the design of satellites.

Her mum, Andrea, told Radio 4's Today programme that Jess was a very healthy young woman when the pandemic hit in 2020.

But in July of that year, she didn't feel right and contacted her GP practice repeatedly over the next five months about her symptoms.

Over time they became "increasingly debilitating", Andrea says.

"She had unintentionally lost quite a lot of weight, had night sweats, chronic fatigue, a persistent cough and very enlarged lymph nodes.

"But because of her age, it was obviously considered there wasn't anything wrong."

Jess had contact with six different doctors at her GP surgery and three face-to-face consultations with a family doctor, but no referral to a specialist was made.

"Her body was failing her," says Andrea.

"It was hard for Jess to advocate for herself. She was saying 'What's the point? Nothing will happen.'"

When the family decided to arrange a private appointment and she was referred to a specialist, it was too late.

Jess was given a terminal cancer diagnosis of adenocarcinoma, cancer of the glands that line the organs, in November and died three weeks later - just days before Christmas 2020.

The family hopes Jess's Rule will help to increase awareness of the importance of GPs acting quickly for patients who are steadily deteriorating.

"She wanted to make a difference," Andrea says.

"Jess knew her delayed diagnosis was instrumental in the fact she had no treatment options open to her, only palliative care.

"She felt strongly she didn't want this to happen to other people."

Jess's Rule is not a law, but a strong reminder to GPs to take a "three strikes and rethink approach". That means taking action after a patient attends three appointments with the same symptoms, to prevent avoidable deaths.

This could mean arranging face-to-face consultations with a patient previously only spoken to on the phone, ordering extra tests or asking for a second opinion from a colleague. GPs should also consider referring patients to a specialist.

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), which was involved in drawing up the guidance, said no doctor ever wanted to miss signs of serious illness, such as cancer.

"Many conditions, including many cancers, are challenging to identify in primary care because the symptoms are often similar to other, less serious and more common conditions," said Prof Kamila Hawthorne, chair of RCGP.

"If a patient repeatedly presents with the same or similar symptoms, but the treatment plan does not seem to be making them better - or their condition is deteriorating - it is best practice to review the diagnosis and consider alternative approaches."

Research suggests younger patients and people from ethnic minority backgrounds often face delays before being diagnosed with a serious condition, because their symptoms aren't similar to those of white or older patients.

Younger people, like Jess, can also be dismissed simply because they appear to be too young to have a serious illness.

RCGP has worked with Jess Brady's family, external to develop an educational resource for GPs on the early diagnosis of cancer in young adults.

The Department of Health said many GP practices already used the correct approach, but that Jess' s Rule would make this "standard practice across the country".

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting thanked Jess's family, saying they had campaigned tirelessly through "unimaginable grief" to ensure Jessica's legacy helps to save the lives of others.

"Patient safety must be the bedrock of the NHS, and Jess's Rule will make sure every patient receives the thorough, compassionate, and safe care that they deserve, while supporting our hard-working GPs to catch potentially deadly illnesses," he said.

Paul Callaghan, from Healthwatch England, which represents people who use health and social care services, said the rule should be implemented "quickly and consistently".

"It's also imperative that specialist teams have the resources to deal with potential increases in demand, resulting from increased referrals," he said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly0428jjpeo