Whittington Health NHS Trust
Magdala Avenue
London N19 5NF
T: 020 7288 5644
Thursday 5 April 2018
Dear Colleague,
Re: Roll out of e-Referrals (eRS) Service at Whittington Health NHS Trust
We are writing to formally confirm that from Monday 16th April 2018 all new referrals from GPs to Consultant Led Outpatient Services at Whittington Health NHS Trust will need to be referred via the NHS e-Referral System.
This is in line with the National ‘Paper Switch Off’ Project and it is also a requirement of the NHS England 2018/19 Contract for all GP referrals to Consultant Led First Outpatient Appointments to be made via the NHS e-Referral System (eRS) by Monday 1stOctober 2018.
Whittington Health is a “Wave 1 – Early Adopter” site and so has been designated an earlier Paper Switch Off date.
From Monday 16th April 2018,any referrals made to these services via paper or email will be returned to the referrer and will need to be re-referred via eRS.
Pleaseuse the relevant Directory of Services (DOS) as it is important that you are able to selectthe correct services first time for your patients and that our Clinicians receive the appropriate referral.
All referrals will be reviewed by a clinician and if it is felt that a patient needs to be seen in a different clinic, or to be seen sooner than the appointment date booked, the appointment will be changed and the Trust will inform the patient of the change in appointment.If a referral has been booked into the wrong clinic, the patient will be correctly booked and informed of any changes to their appointment.
Should you require advice orguidance, this is available viae-RS for the following services:
• Gastroenterology
• Gynaecology
• Rheumatology
• Cardiology
• Diabetes
• Endocrinology
• Neurology
• Urology
• General Surgery
In the event that there is no capacity available on eRS please use the“Defer to Provider” option. We will then be able to manage the referral within the NHS e-RS system where there will be a complete audit trail for all to view.
Referrals will be returned by post or by email to the Practice email address. Please ensure that you have systems in place to identify returned emails and paper referrals as once a referral has been returned we are unable to followthem up.
2WW referrals should also be sent via eRS to the relevant 2WW specialities. However there will be anationally agreed proactive follow-up process in place for those received on paper or by email to ensure that, in the interests of patient safety, all referrals received are processed.
If you have any queries in regards to Whittington Health Services, please contact Beverleigh Senior at OR Jennifer Hession at .
A wealth of information and guidance can also be found on the NHS Digital website
Yours sincerely,
Carol Gillen
Chief Operating Officer
Whittington Health NHS Trust
Established as The WhittingtonHospital NHS Trust
Chairman: Mr Steve Hitchins Chief Executive: Mr Simon Pleydell