The decision to refer to a hospital doctor is made in discussion between you and your GP. It is important we send essential medical details to the team we are referring you to. This is for your safety and so the team can make the best plan for you based on your health information.
In the same way, private referrals must also be discussed with your GP first. If you have medical insurance, the insurer may not cover your bills without a prior GP referral.
Though the most appropriate referral may be suggested to you – often one the excellent local services – you will still have the right to choose your hospital, enshrined in the NHS Constitution.
We refer using the secure NHS E-Referral System (‘ERS’). Once you have been referred, a Unique Booking Reference Number (‘UBRN’) will be created and this, with an access code, will be sent or given to you so you can track and manage your booking online.We shall either make the booking for you (which you can then change if needed) or if preferred, you can make your own appointment using these details by logging into ERS.
Many hospital services are currently operating as Referral Assessment Services, meaning they will not offer a booking date until the consultant has read the letter we send. In these cases you will be informed on the date by which you should expect to hear back and a number to call if you have not heard – please do not contact the GP as we cannot help change this. However, if your condition has worsened or changed significantly then do let us know. Sometimes a referral will be rejected and if this happens your GP will explain the reasons and any alternative plans.
When you’ve been referred to a specialist, there are a number of things you should expect and here is a useful checklist to take with you.
There are referral pathways in operation in North West London which specify in detail which cases will benefit from a referral and which are the most appropriate clinics to send them to. These are agreed between specialists and GPs and are based on the best medical evidence. We have to follow these and it may mean that a referral is not recommended until certain criteria are met or further investigations undertaken. If this is the case your GP will explain that the referral is likely to be rejected, in which case we will discuss the suggested options.
Advice and Guidance
We can also ask a consultant in the hospital for help with your case. This well-established system often gives very useful, quick specialist advice for further investigations or treatments and can save a long wait for a hospital appointment.
Fast track suspected cancer clinic referrals
For certain worrying symptoms we have access to quick access clinics or investigation bookings. The service aims to contact you within a very short time – usually around two weeks. They aim to pick up or exclude cancer diagnoses rapidly. The vast majority of referrals (around 90%) do not diagnose cancer but often a negative result is just as important and can point us in other directions.
There are strict entry criteria and cases that do not meet these are likely to be rejected. If your problems do qualify, this will be discussed by your GP and you will be given the details of your confirmed booking as above. Here is a leaflet explaining the basics about these fast-track clinics.
Here is more information about suspected cancer referrals and what to expect (from Cancer Research UK).