Life-saving Jess’s Rule to be advertised in every GP surgery
- Posters raising awareness of the life-saving Jess’s Rule will be delivered to all 6,170 GP practices in England this week
- Jess’s Rule makes sure GPs take a ‘fresh eyes’ approach with patients, making them think again to diagnose and catch serious illnesses earlier
- The posters, co-designed with Jessica Brady’s parents, rolled out nationwide as part of major patient safety drive.
What is Jess's Rule?
Jess's Rule asks GPs to take a “fresh eyes” approach and think again if, after three appointments, they have been unable to offer a patient a substantiated diagnosis or their symptoms have escalated.
Jess’s Rule asks GP teams to ‘reflect, review and rethink’ if a patient presents three times with the same or escalating symptoms.
- Reflect: Think back on what the patient has said and consider what has changed or been missed. Offer ongoing episodic continuity of care for future direct patient care. If previous consultations have been remote, see the patient face-to-face and conduct a physical examination.
- Review: Where underlying uncertainty exists, consider seeking a view from a peer and review any red flags that may suggest another diagnosis, regardless of the patient’s age or demographic.
- Rethink: If appropriate, refer onwards for further tests or for specialist input.
Jess's Story
The initiative, announced in September 2025, is named in honour of Jessica Brady, who died of cancer in December 2020 at the age of 27. It will help avoid tragic, preventable deaths as GPs are supported to catch potentially deadly illnesses sooner.
In the five months leading up to her death, Jessica had more than 20 appointments at her GP surgery but was eventually forced to seek private healthcare. She was later diagnosed with stage four adenocarcinoma – a type of cancer - which was so advanced there was no available treatment, and she died in hospital three weeks later.
Jess’s Rule is the result of years of campaigning undertaken by Jess’s parents to transform a tragedy into lasting patient safety change.
How Jess’s Rule will benefit patients
Displaying Jess’s Rule posters in consultation rooms will boost patient safety by prompting doctors to revisit patient records, challenge initial assumptions and remain alert to warning signs that might otherwise be missed.
Jess’s Rule will particularly benefit younger patients and those from ethnic minority backgrounds who often face delays in diagnosis of serious conditions.
A report from the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation on cancer diagnosis in younger people and people of minority ethnicities, found that half of 16 to 24 year olds required three or more interactions with a healthcare professional from a GP practice before being diagnosed with cancer, compared to one in five people across the whole population.
In practice, Jess’s Rule will encourage GPs to arrange face-to-face consultations if previous appointments were remote, conduct thorough physical examinations, order additional diagnostic tests and seek second opinions from colleagues.
Jess’s Rule is a crucial part of the government’s wider commitment to supporting GPs to deliver the best possible care for patients, as outlined in the 10 Year Health Plan.
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