Posters promoting Jess’s Rule are being sent to every GP practice in England, with distribution beginning in January 2026. The Department of Health and Social Care, working with NHS England and Jessica Brady’s family, says the materials are intended for consulting rooms so the message reaches clinicians and patients during appointments.
Jess’s Rule asks GP teams to take a fresh‑eyes review when a patient returns for a third contact with the same or worsening symptoms, or where a clear, evidenced diagnosis has not been reached. The principle, summarised as ‘three strikes and we rethink’, is designed to prompt record review, challenge initial assumptions and consider escalation.
The campaign honours Jessica Brady, who died from advanced adenocarcinoma in December 2020 aged 27. Her parents, Andrea and Simon Brady, have led sustained advocacy to encourage earlier recognition of serious illness, culminating in the government’s announcement of Jess’s Rule in September 2025.
Alongside the posters, GP surgeries will receive a letter from the Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, and NHS England’s National Medical Director, Claire Fuller, reinforcing the request to display the materials in consulting rooms or staff areas. The letter stresses that persistent symptoms warrant a second look and that patients should be encouraged to raise continuing concerns.
In practice, NHS England indicates the fresh‑eyes step may include arranging a face‑to‑face appointment if earlier contacts were remote, conducting a comprehensive physical examination, ordering further diagnostic tests, seeking a colleague’s opinion, and making a timely referral to secondary care when appropriate.
Evidence cited by the department points to particular benefits for groups who experience longer diagnostic intervals. Research from the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation found that around half of people aged 16 to 24 required three or more interactions with a GP practice before a cancer diagnosis, compared with about one in five across the wider population.
The Royal College of General Practitioners has described Jess’s Rule as formalising established good practice by building in time to reflect when a treatment plan is not working, while underlining that many serious conditions present with symptoms that can mimic common, benign illnesses. Learning resources developed with Jessica Brady’s family focus on diagnosing cancer in younger patients.
Policy officials frame Jess’s Rule as a patient safety campaign and clinical prompt rather than a change in law or formal clinical guideline. It sits alongside existing duties on timely assessment, safety‑netting and follow‑up, and relies on local adoption by practices and primary care networks to embed the review step consistently.
The initiative is presented as part of the government’s wider plan for primary care. Ministers highlight a £1.1 billion funding package, including £160 million to recruit 2,900 additional GPs, and the rollout of online GP booking request tools intended to improve access and tailor care. The department says patient satisfaction in general practice has begun to recover after a decade of decline.
For practice leaders, immediate actions include ensuring the poster is visible in rooms where clinical decisions are made, configuring electronic records to flag third contacts for the same problem, and briefing the whole multidisciplinary team on when to escalate or seek a second opinion. Local audit and training will help test whether the fresh‑eyes prompt shortens time to diagnosis and reduces avoidable harm.