Referrals (advice and refer, formerly advice and guidance)

GPs wishing to refer a patient into some Barts Health services will need to do this through a process known as 'advice and referral' (A&R) using the advice and guidance (A&G) pathway on eRS.

Whilst nationally this service is still known as A&G, we refer to A&R to aid clarity in its purpose.

Any other referral pathways for these select services, such as DBS or RAS, are closed resulting in just one referral process. The change is being trialled across a number of specialties.

Information for NHS patients: understand your GP's approach to seeking advice and making a referral to hospital specialists.

Access Issues Resolution Service (aIRS)

The Access Issues Resolution Service (aIRS) is the Trust’s dedicated helpline for patients and GPs experiencing difficulties accessing our services. aIRS offer patients and GPs a fast and effective route for resolving booking and scheduling issues. The team aims to acknowledge raised issues within 24 hours and to resolve them within ten working days.

The aIRS service is available Monday to Friday 8:30-17:00 and can be contacted on 0207 767 3205 or by via BHNT.AIRS@nhs.net. Please do NOT use aIRS for emergency care queries.

eRS advice and referral service

Advice and referral (A&R) is for GPs and other referrers only. Please refer to the GP handbook for guidance on how to make an A&R request and for answers to some frequently asked questions.

Patients should use the contact details in their hospital appointment letter or information leaflet, or call the Trust switchboard.

The following services have switched to using A&R:

  • Allergy (all Trust sites)
  • Cardiac arrhythmia
  • Cardiac surgery (all Trust sites)
  • Cardio risk and lipids (all Trust sites)
  • Complex blood pressure and autonomic cardiovascular disorders (all Trust sites)
  • Diabetes (Whipps Cross hospital)
  • Difficult asthma (St Bartholomew's hospital)
  • Elderly care (The Royal London, Newham and Whipps Cross Hospitals)
  • Endocrine (Newham, St Bartholomew's and Whipps Cross hospitals)
  • Gastroenterology (The Royal London Hospital)
  • General paediatrics (Newham, The Royal London and Whipps Cross hospitals)
  • General respiratory (to include general asthma) (St Bartholomew’s, The Royal London and Mile End Hospitals)
  • Haematology (all Trust sites)
  • Haemostasis & thrombosis (all Trust sites)
  • Infectious diseases (all Trust sites)
  • Interstitial lung disease (St Bartholomew's , The Royal London and Mile End Hospitals)
  • Memory (Newham hospital)
  • Paediatric trauma and orthopaedics
  • Paediatric allergy (RLH)
  • Plastics (all Trust sites)
  • Rheumatology (Mile End, The Royal London, Newham and Whipps Cross hospitals)
  • Sleep (St Bartholomew's and The Royal London hospitals)
  • Specialist breathlessness (Mile End Hospital)
  • Thoracic surgery (all Trust sites)
  • Tuberculosis (Mile End Hospital)
  • Urology (The Royal London, Newham and Whipps Cross hospitals)

GPs using A&R must select ‘advice’ on eRS. Before submitting the request, please give permission to the provider to allow for the request to be converted into a referral. Click ‘yes’ when prompted to do this.

The following services, separated by site, can all be accessed via eRS using advice and guidance (A&G), the directly bookable service (DBS) or the referral assessment services (RAS).

If the service you require is not listed above please contact them directly via the hospital switchboard.

Clinical consortia are being established for each speciality to evaluate the effectiveness of A&R. If you would like to take part, please contact Outpatient queries.

Newham Hospital

  • Cardiology  
  • Diabetic medicine
  • General medicine
  • Geriatric medicine
  • GI and liver (medicine and surgery)
  • Gynaecology
  • Neurology
  • Ophthalmology
  • Respiratory medicine
  • Surgery - breast
  • Surgery - not otherwise specified

St Bartholomew’s Hospital  

  • Cardiology
  • Diabetic medicine 
  • Gynaecology 
  • Pain management 
  • Surgery - vascular 

The Royal London and Mile End hospitals  

  • Cardiology
  • Dermatology  
  • Diabetic medicine
  • Ear, nose and throat 
  • Geriatric medicine  
  • GI and liver (medicine and surgery)  
  • Gynaecology  
  • Immunology  
  • Neurology  
  • Oral and maxillofacial surgery 
  • Orthopaedics  
  • Surgery - not otherwise specified
  • Surgery - plastic  
  • Surgery - vascular  

Whipps Cross Hospital

  • Cardiology  
  • Dermatology 
  • Ear, nose and throat  
  • GI and liver (medicine and surgery)
  • Gynaecology
  • Nephrology  
  • Neurology 
  • Ophthalmology 
  • Orthopaedics  
  • Pain management  
  • Respiratory medicine  
  • Sleep medicine
  • Surgery - vascular  

Contacting services not on eRS

Alternative contact details for services not using advice and refer are listed below. The details below should only be used for non-urgent queries where services are not using eRS. If the service you require is not listed above please contact the department directly via the switchboard.

Services not on eRS advice and guidance

Specialty

Contact

Breast surgery

A&R provided by Newham Hospital (NH) for urgent cases only. Email advice provided by St Bartholomew's Hospital (SBH)

Chronic Kidney Disease

 For urgent clinical questions, call the service on 02035945751, Monady-Friday, 8.30am to 5pm

Geriatric

Hotline at Whipps Cross Hospital (WXH) available 9am-5pm: 02085356644

HIV

Email the service
Imaging Email the service

Maternity at Whipps Cross Hospital

 

 Email the service

Musculoskeletal services

 Email the service

Nephrology

Advice available via virtual CKD services, accessed through GP clinical systems

Neurosurgery

Please use 'Refer a Patient' to seek advice

Paediatric rheumatology

Please direct A&R requests to the paediatric general service

Paediatric respiratory

 Please direct A&R requests to the paediatric general service

Sexual health

Email the service. Urgent sexual health including emergency contraception and HIV post-exposure prophylaxis can book a telephone appointment via All East.

Urgent advice

  The numbers below are direct contact numbers for specific services or appointment booking lines.

If the service you need is not detailed below or you are unable to get through, please contact the hospital’s switchboard.

Newham Hospital

  • Acute medicine (Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Neurology, Care of the Elderly, Memory, Tia /Stroke):  0207 363 9012

  • E ndoscopy:  0207 363 8042

  • Gynaecology:  02073639015, e mergency gynaecology unit:  02073638691

  • Haematology - a nticoagulation: 02073638730, g eneral haematology 02073639413, h aemoglobinopathy (Sickle cell and thalassaemia): 020 35941877 

  • Maternity: 0207 3639302/8011

  • Oncology: 07930220095

  • Paediatric (children’s services): 02073639019

  • Specialist Medicine (endocrinology, diabetes, infectious disease, respiratory medicine, nephrology, infectious disease):  0207 3639013

  • Surgery (general surgery, colorectal, breast, sascular, ear, nose and throat, ophthalmology, paediatric ophthalmology, urology): 02073639021

  • Trauma and orthopaedics (and podiatry): 0207 3639022  

Royal London Hospital and Mile End hospitals  

  • Acute medicine: 020 3594 5642

  • Clinical immunology: 0207 377 7039  

  • CWHS: 0207 377 7307 (for women going through EMA use 07720 948394)

  • Endoscopy: 020 3594 5743  

  • Emergency gynaecology unit:  020 3594 1579 ( 8am-6pm, Monday to Friday, 8.30am-1.30pm on Saturdays. Call ward 8B outside of these hours)

  • General Surgery: 020 3594 5690/1

  • Geriatrics: 020 7377 7000 (extension 45799 via switchboard)

  • Gynaecology: 020 3594 5719

  • Gastro, IBS helpline: 0203 5943700, general enquiries: 020 3594 3400

  • Haematology -  Haemophilia:  020 35941769, H aemoglobinopathy (Sickle cell and thalassaemia):  020 35941877,   Anticoagulation:  020 35941885, Haematology Day Unit: 020 35941858

  • Hepatology - medical issues: 0207 377 7090, clinical nurse specialist: 0207 377 7088 between 9am-5pm)

  • HIV: 020 7377 7039  

  • Neurology (on-call): 0203 594 5652

  • Neurosurgery (on-call): 0203 594 5649  

  • Obstetric (on-call): 0203 594 5635

  • Oncology: 07715050735

  • Rheumatology: 0208 223 8859 (7.30am-4.30 pm)

  • Sexual health:  0207  377 7307

  • TIA/Stroke (on-call): 0203 594 5651/0203 594 5672  

St Bartholomew’s Hospital  

  • Cardiology - Arrhythmia: 0203 765 8646, General Cardiology: 0203 765 8715, Grown up congenital heart disease: 0203 765 8765, inherited cardiovascular disease:  0203 765 8611

  • Diabetes: 020 3594 6058

  • Fertility: 020 346 56093 / 55098

  • Oncology  -  07940499062

  • All other  services:  0203 765 8000  

Whipps Cross Hospital  

  • Appointment call centre (for all queries unless outlined below): 0208 535 6768

  • Breast clinic services: 020 8535 6933

  • General  Surgery: 020 8539 5522, bleep number 2900

  • Gynaecology - emergency gynaecology unit: 0208 535 6499, gynaecology SpR: 020 8539 5522, bleep number 2203,  obstetric SHO:  020 8539 5522, bleep number 2429,  obstetric SPR:  020 8539 5522, bleep number 2430, gynaecology secretaries: 020 8539 5522, extensions  5181 and 6591.  

  • Haematology - a nticoagulation:  020 8535 6815, g eneral haematology:  0208 535 6687, h aemoglobinopathy  (sickle cell and thalassaemia):  020 35941877  

  • Maternity: 020 8535 6861

  • Pain: 020 8539 5522, extension 5360

  • Paediatric Services: 020 8539 5522, bleep number   2137

  • Oncology: 07703469211

  • Ophthalmology: 020 8539 5522, extension 6888

    • Eye Casualty Reception, extension 5715

    • Eye Casualty Mobile: 079 7165 5894

  • Urology: 020 8539 5522, bleep number 2500 

Exceptions

Referrals 

Please use the NHS e-Referral Service (eRS) for all GP referrals into Barts Health, including urgent two week waits.

Information and links to referral forms can be found on the dedicated webpage.

Written and exception referrals 

Some specialist or urgent services may be exempt from Paper Switch Off. Please check our website page on a regular basis for details. 

Urgent cancer referrals 

All cancer two week wait services are available on eRS and must be sent this way.

Urgent care centres, out-of-hours primary care providers, hospital clinicians, dentists and optometrists are advised to use the MS Word version of the Pan-London Suspected Cancer Referral Forms to refer patients with a suspected cancer.  When referring a patient, a copy should also be sent to the patient’s GP.  

Dental referrals 

To help dentists refer to our services, we have set out  careful guidelines and special referral forms which must be read carefully and used appropriately. 

Information on clinical consortium

Here at Barts Health we want to work collaboratively with our ICB colleagues and primary care to evaluate and further improve our advice & refer services. We have set up clinical consortia for each of the larger specialties that have switched to do this. If you are a GP or member of staff at a GP practice and are interested in joining our consortia please contact Melanie Dalby (melanie.dalby1@nhs.net). You are welcome to join as a member or attend on an ad hoc basis. Details of the different consortia we have set up and the next set of dates are below:

Information on current consortia

Gastroenterology consortium

 

 

Date

Time

Venue
13th March  11:00 - 12:00  Microsoft Teams 
12th June 11:00 - 12:00 Microsoft Teams 
11th September  11:00 - 12:00 Microsoft Teams 

Endocrine Consortium

 

 

Date

Time

Venue

1st March 

11:00 – 12:00

Microsoft Teams

3rd May 

11:00 – 12:00

Microsoft Teams
5th July  11:00 - 12:00 Microsoft Teams 

General Paediatrics Consortium

 

 

Date

Time

Venue

7th March 

14:30 – 15:30

Microsoft Teams

2nd May 

14:30 – 15:30

Microsoft Teams
4th July  14:30 – 15:30 Microsoft Teams

Rheumatology Consortium

 

 

Date

Time

Venue

27th January 

14:00 – 15:00

Microsoft Teams
17th March  14:00 – 15:00 Microsoft Teams
19th May  14:00 – 15:00 Microsoft Teams

Haematology Consortium

 

 

Date

Time

Venue

16th  January 

10:00 – 11:00

Microsoft Teams

20th February 

10:00 – 11:00

Microsoft Teams

20th March 

10:00 – 11:00

Microsoft Teams