Referrals
Once you have been referred by your GP and your referral leaves the Practice, your referral will be in the hands of a different, or possibly a new service provider.
The Practice sends hundreds of referrals each week and patients need to chase up their own appointments with the service provider. The GP Practice is not usually given any information about your appointment until after you have had it, when a letter is sent to the GP with information about the outcome of your appointment.
We hope that this guide will help patients navigate chasing up their referrals. If patients have been referred to East Sussex Health Trust (ESHT), usually Eastbourne, Bexhill or Conquest hospitals, then there is this a link on their website, which gives approximate waiting times for routine appointments.
If you can please use this link, which will give you an idea of how long you will be waiting:
If patients have waited some time and tried to chase up their appointment with the relevant service provider, but have still not got an appointment, they can contact the practice with details of when and who they chased, and what was said. We will then do our best to help. We would, however, request that patients first try to chase their own referrals.
We have 17,000 patients and an extremely busy and overstretched patient services team, so this would help us enormously. We are, of course, always happy to help patients who have a genuine need of support, for example patients with learning difficulties, who are elderly vulnerable and frail, have dementia and/or have no carers or family support.
The link below also offers a very useful guide to support while you are waiting for a referral:
Support while you wait – Sussex Health and Care (ics.nhs.uk)
Electronic referral system (ERS)
If a patient has been referred by the ERS (electronic referral system) when the Practice secretaries process it, they will send the patient a letter with the booking details and contact number. Patients can use those details to find out more information about their appointments and waiting times.
Non electronic referral system referrals
Patients will hear directly with regards to their appointments. If they wish to chase up appointments and find out more information and they have been referred to ESHT, then they can contact the appointments centre on 0300 131 4600.
Musculoskeletal (MSK) referrals
If a patient has been referred to MSK they will hear from them directly, but they can chase and get more information by contacting them directly on 0300 131 5225. Alternatively you can visit their website www.eastsussexmsk.nhs.uk
Radiology referrals
If a patient has been referred for an x-ray, ultrasound, CT scan or MRI and they have been referred to East Sussex Hospitals, then they can contact the switch board at the Eastbourne District General Hospital on 0300 131 4500 and ask to be put through to radiology appointments.
If they have been referred to an outside service run by the community, then they can contact them directly for information. The GP should have advised them where they are being referred to.
Mental health referrals
For all mental health referrals patients can contact Sussex Partnership on 0300 304 0100.
This is the list of the most common places we refer to, although clearly there are a whole lot more and service providers are subject to change.
Private (non-NHS) referrals
If you request a private, non NHS, referral we will prepare this letter for you and send it directly to you. This will enable you to send it to the Consultant and site of your choice. This allows you to discuss appointment times and how you are paying for your appointment/treatment directly with your Consultant’s Secretary
NHS My Planned Care
My Planned Care gives you advice and support while you wait and helps you to prepare for your hospital consultation, treatment, or surgery. This includes giving you information about waiting times at your hospital and other supporting and local services while you wait.
This site is updated weekly and can be viewed by anyone, which means you, your family or carer as well as your NHS team can all see the latest information.
Visit the NHS My Planned Care website here
DNA letters
In line with the Trust Access Policy patients will be discharged if they fail to attend ONE new appointment or TWO follow up appointment.
The decision to DNA a patient is made by the reviewing clinician, no administrative teams and will only happen if :
- The appointment was clearly communicated
- The patient is not considered vulnerable
- The patient is not on a 2ww pathway.
If you receive a letter and are unhappy about being discharged, please contact the number on the top of your DNA letter.
The phone number is for the relevant hospital department.