Life-saving Jess’s Rule to be advertised in every GP surgery

Patients across the country are set to benefit from a new life-saving safety campaign raising awareness of Jess’s Rule.

All 6,170 GP surgeries in England will receive Jess’s Rule posters from this week, displaying the safety drive to GPs, primary care staff and patients in thousands of consultation rooms. 

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. 

The initiative, announced last autumn, is named in honour of Jess 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. 

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.