Some 200 GPs from every state and territory have described the frustration of dealing with hospitals that demand named referrals, a demand the majority believe is illegal.    

Requirements for named referrals appear to be growing, with about a quarter of the GPs saying their local hospitals or health services had started demending them within the past two years.

A month ago, Western Health in Victoria sent letters to local GPs warning that any unnamed referrals would be rejected by Sunshine Hospital, Footscray Hospital, Williamstown Hospital and Bacchus Marsh Hospital.

It prompted local GP Dr Joe Garra to start attaching to his referrals extracts from the National Health Reform Agreement, which states public hospitals “must not control referral pathways by requiring named referrals for access to [outpatient] clinics”.