Routine Referrals
If you have been referred to secondary care for NHS speciality assessment (excluding suspected cancer investigations) you may receive a call from the Referral Management Centre, though this number may appear as a withheld number on mobiles.
For more infromation on your hospital referrals click here
If you do not hear from them within 14 days of your referral, please contact 01772 660011 to follow-up.
Please remember the Practice clinicians have no control over where patients are on the waiting list. Referrals to the hospital are prioritised by the hospital based on clinical urgency, and due to high demand resulting from the impact of the pandemic, there can be long waits for treatment. Expedite letters do not have any influence over the waiting list. The Practice receive multiple requests for expedite letters everyday which reduces the number of appointments available. If you have been referred to Lancashire Teaching Hospitals for further investigations, please visit the following website to see what the current average waiting times are:
https://www.myplannedcare.nhs.uk/nwest/lancashire/
Urgent suspected cancer referrals
If you been referred to the hospital for an urgent appointment, it’s important to remember that 9 out of 10 people who are referred via this route will turn out not to have cancer. This referral type is called the Faste Diagnosis Standard (FDS), and this aims to deliver :an earlier and faster diagnosis for patients, whether or not they are diagnosed with cancer.
NHS England has introduced a new target called the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS). The target is that you should not wait more than 28 days from referral to finding out whether you have cancer or not. This is part of a wider NHS England plan to focus more on the speed that someone gets their results and diagnosis.
The FDS applies to those people who are referred:
- by their GP for suspected cancer
- by their GP with breast symptoms where cancer is not suspected
- following an abnormal screening result from a cancer screening test
· excellent patient experience, a holistic assessment of patient needs, and streamlined support across community, primary and secondary care.
· increased capacity in the system, through more efficient diagnostic pathways.
· support to healthcare providers to reach the Faster Diagnosis Standard.
It is very important to act quickly as earlier diagnosis improves outcomes. Please contact us if you notice any new or unusual changes or if your symptoms become worse. If you have not been contacted by the hospital within 10 days, please contact the secretarial team at the practice.
If you do not hear from them within 14 days of your referral, please contact 01772 660011 to follow-up.