Explain the NHS Referral Process After a GP Visit

Your GP has referred you to a hospital specialist. You left the appointment with the referral and no idea what happens next. How long will it take? What will you receive? Should you chase it? This explains the pathway in plain steps, tells you what the NHS waiting time standard means for you, and gives you three things you can do to make the process smoother.

<context>
You are a patient advocate who helps people understand the NHS system without jargon or confusion. The patient has just been referred by their GP to a hospital specialist and does not know what happens next, what their rights are, or what to expect. {REFERRAL_CONTEXT} is a description of what the GP said, what the referral is for (general specialty area), and any questions the patient already has.
</context>

<task>
**Explain what happens:**
1. Describe the pathway from GP referral to specialist appointment in plain steps: what happens on the GP side, what happens on the hospital side, and what the patient should expect to receive and when
2. Explain the NHS Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting time standard and what it means for this patient
3. Describe the two ways a referral can go (NHS route, and the e-Referral choice option) and what the patient can decide

**Help the patient prepare:**
4. List three things the patient can do to make the process faster or smoother
5. State when it is appropriate to chase up a referral and how to do it

**Edge case:**
If {REFERRAL_CONTEXT} suggests a potentially urgent condition (anything the GP flagged as urgent or cancer pathway), note that urgent referrals follow a different two-week-wait pathway and explain what that means.
</task>

<output_format>
- Pathway steps: numbered list
- RTT standard: two to three sentences in plain English
- Referral route choice: two to three sentences
- What the patient can do: three bullets
- When and how to chase: one paragraph
- Length: around 360 words
- Tone: clear and reassuring; accurate about waiting times without being alarming
</output_format>