Hospital Appointments & Outcome Information

We understand the challenges patients have regarding the transition of care between your GP Practice and hospital appointments. This can be magnified with feelings of concern.

Practice and hospitals do not use the same clinical systems and, as a practice, we cannot see booked appointments or waiting lists. Nor do we have access to outcome information until we receive this in either letter or email form – usually at the same time that you are sent the same information.

Practices also do not have direct contact numbers for specialists or departments, rather we utilise the same access points as patients do, however, as we are not the patient if we call we are not privy to the same level of information as you are. We hope that the below information helps you to access the information you need when you need to find out information.

PATIENT SERVICES HUB – 01522 573200

For support with your appointment – After referral.
You will need to provide your full name, date of birth, full address and NHS number during the initial automated part of your call.

EXPEDITE LETTERS

We receive a high volume of requests for expedite letters, for a number of reasons. We recognise that in a lot of cases people have been recommended to ask for this from their GP. However, we have been advised to inform patients that these are most often not acted upon. The reason for this is that all referrals are assessed by specialist departments and they prioritise the referral, when it is received, based on clinical need.
The referral we place includes all relevant information and the reason for the referral, as well as any investigations which have been completed beforehand and a summary of your care record to support the process. As the assessment process has already been completed by that department expedite letters are then often void as they already  have that information.
If a patients circumstances worsen we will of course update the referral status so that the hospital is aware of this information.

EXPECTED WAITING TIMES

We do not have access to the expected waiting period of referrals, however, patients should receive a letter from the specialist department when the referral has been accepted. This will inform you it has been received and provide you with an expected time frame for you to be offered an appointment. Within this letter there is often a number to call directly if you have not heard from them within that expected time frame.

You can also view the projected waiting times for departments on the below links:

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust Waiting Times

Wider Midlands Hospital Trust Waiting Times

ADVICE & GUIDANCE

To support the demand on secondary care and advice and guidance system has been put in place for GPs to get specialist support without having to wait for a face to face appointment with a specialist. In some cases we are mandated to gain this advice and guidance before the department will accept an initial referral. Please understand that if you are expecting an appointment and we offer accessing advice and guidance first this is not always a practice decision, and it is usually a MUCH faster way for us to get the specialist help and support you need.
In some cases this service may initiate the first step of support you would receive from a face to face appointment with a specialist anyway. The Advice & Guidance service is a direct route to specialist assessment and is not a non-clinical task.

Please help our administration team by utilising these services, and remember that if your symptoms worsen or you need medical support whilst the practice is closed you can access help via 111 – 24 hours a day

Thank you for your support.