From 1  April  2018  Guy’s and St Thomas’ will be moving to full use of the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS), accepting only e-RS referrals from GPs.

This programme will help the Trust meet the conditions of the NHS Standard Contract which states that, as of 1 October 2018, NHS providers ‘need not accept (and will not be paid for any activity resulting from) referrals by GPs to Consultant-led acute outpatient services made other than through the NHS e-Referral Service’.

We aim to switch off paper referrals across the Trust in a phased way from now until March 2018.

The first tranche of services due to only accept referrals via e-RS, as of 1 September 2017, are:

• Diabetes

• Dermatology

• Gynaecology

• Ophthalmology

• Neurology

• Cancer 2 week wait

• Antenatal (Assessment Service)

• MCATTS (Lambeth)

   

  Please note that referrals for these services sent via paper or email from GPs ONLY will be returned to the referrer, requesting that they re-refer via e-RS.

   

  Referrals from the below sources will continue to be accepted:

  •           Tertiary referrals

  •           Referring organisations not connected to NHS e-RS, eg dentists, optometrists

  •           Self-referrals.

   

  If you have any queries regarding access/training for e-RS, please contact your local GP IT facilitator.

A new dedicated GP priority phone line has now been established and is available 24/7, with our operators able to put you through directly to the specialty you require.

GP hotline 020 7188 4488 provides:

•Better primary care access to specialty advice

•One number to access decision makers across all specialities

•More senior advice, more rapidly available

•Direct triage to speciality clinic if appropriate

•Helping to prevent unnecessary emergency attendances

•Available 24/7. 

Please note: this GP helpline is for clinical advice only. For any queries about existing referrals or patient appointments, contact the related service directly as you currently do. 

We welcome GP feedback, please contact Marie Stevens, Project Manager, Marie.Stevens@gstt.nhs.uk.

Dr Jackie Masterton from The Medical Centre, Prentis Road, Streatham, talks about her work with the district nursing team at Gracefield Gardens.

Have you seen a patient who needs an urgent vascular opinion but does not require immediate admission via A&E?

Our new Emergency Vascular Clinic:

• Runs every weekday

• Provides One-Stop ambulatory emergency care

• Offers full assessment including imaging, blood tests, pre-assessment and consultant review.

You can refer patients to this clinic by discussion with the Vascular Registrar on 07717 513348.

You will need to fill in the urgent vascular referral form, available at https://tinyurl.com/gstt-evc

For more information, please see our flyer or contact becky.sandford@gstt.nhs.uk/Meryl.green@gstt.nhs.uk

It is best practice due to the importance of the 2 week wait (2ww) pathway that the appointment on e-RS is made before the patient leaves the practice either by the GP or their administrator.  Please ensure that you have agreed the appointment with the patient prior to booking an appointment and print them an appointment summary from e-RS.  It is very important that the patient has been told that they are being referred to rule out suspected cancer.

The Paediatric Audiology Service has introduced an nhs.net email facility and downloadable referral form for children requiring audiological care across South East London.

Who can refer?

• ·        We accept Paediatric Audiology referrals from any health professional for an infant or child who has a GP in Lambeth, Southwark or Lewisham
• ·        We accept some referrals from any health professional for an infant or child who has a GP in Bromley, Bexley or Greenwich
• ·        We accept referrals from other boroughs on a case by case basis
• ·        Referrals should only be made with the informed consent of the child's parents or carers.

Please see ‘Read More’ for detailed guidance on our referral criteria

The Rapid Access Diagnostic Clinic can now see patients aged 40 years or over if they have significant concerns about non-specific symptoms which raise suspicions but for which there is no appropriate urgent referral pathway.

The medical clinic at Guy’s Hospital provides a dedicated pathway for GPs to refer to a range of tests including blood tests, CT scans and endoscopy. Patients will be seen within seven days of referral from the GP.

How to refer:

For the full list of inclusion criteria visit the website.

Please complete the referral form and email it to
gst-tr.rapidaccessdiagnosticclinic@nhs.net

The service is also available on eRS (Choose and Book)   

The team can be contacted on 020 7188 7188 ext 55667.

Following GP feedback we have updated the directory of services on Guy’s and St Thomas’ website with new pages about our gastroenterology and hepatology services.

Click here for full information on referrals.

SHRINE is a 3-year project funded by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity to deliver and evaluate sexual and reproductive healthcare for targeted communities. To learn more about SHRINE and who they serve, take a look at the briefing note about the project.

For urgent infectious diseases referrals (not GUM or TB referrals) email
gst-tr.infectiousdiseases@nhs.net and we will endeavour to see the patient within a week if required.

For full information about the service see our website.

Please download and use the new referral form from the website.

If your practice is no longer offering phlebotomy services please contact the Viapath Customer service team to let them know.

Email: customersupport@viapath.co.uk 

Phone: 020 7188 9684.

From 17 October our haematology laboratory at St Thomas’ Hospital will have a new assay for measuring ESR.

The special black topped blood collection tube will no longer be required; please take a lilac (purple) topped tube instead; this is normally used to measure the Full Blood Count (FBC).

The FBC and ESR can be performed on the same lilac tube.

At the same time we are also updating our ESR reference range to reflect the patients age as below.

Everyone is welcome to attend Guy’s and St Thomas’ Annual Public Meeting which will be held at 6pm on Thursday 14 September in the Marquee in the gardens of St Thomas’ Hospital.

There will be refreshments and information stands about improvements to the care of older people both in our hospitals and in the local community in the same venue from 5.30pm.

This project to create a new Emergency Floor on the ground floor of Lambeth Wing and East Wing at St Thomas’ Hospital is now more than 75% complete.

King’s Health Partners has published the first outcomes book from our Orthopaedics, Trauma and Plastics Clinical Academic Group (CAG).

GPs are invited to join Dr Vishakha Tripathi for an afternoon of interactive talks on genomics on Tuesday 12 September being held at King’s College Hospital in collaboration with the South London NHS Genomic Medicine Centre team.

According to recent feedback, young people are the age group who are least satisfied with visits to their GP practice.

This course will increase knowledge and confidence of staff in dealing with adolescents and families who visit your practice that may have a long term conditions or have health and wellbeing issues.

The South London Genomics Medicine Centre have developed three massive open online courses (MOOCs) to teach you about genomics and demonstrate their relevance to healthcare.

The next Schwartz centre round is taking place on Friday 22nd September, in the Sherman Lecture Theatre, 4th Floor, Southwark Wing, Guy’s Hospital, from 1 - 2pm. Lunch will be provided for attendees from 12:30pm (if you have any particular dietary requirements please email qips@gstt.nhs.uk).

Developed by the Schwartz Centre for Compassionate Healthcare in the USA, Schwartz Centre rounds provide a structured, monthly one-hour forum for staff from all disciplines to discuss difficult emotional and social issues that arise caring for patients. Discussions are confidential and take place in a safe environment. Their purpose is not to solve problems but to explore the human aspects of delivering care and the challenges that staff face.

This accredited RCGP course is commissioned by the South London Faculty RCGP. Run over 2 days from 2nd of October, it will familiarise delegates with the MRCGP CSA module, include methods of preparation and mock CSA cases conducted in small groups with role players.

Course Objectives

• Understand the format and scope of the CSA.

• Identify key areas and skills that are needed to pass

• Gain experience of methods of preparation.

• Participate in mock CSA cases and get targeted feed-back from experienced role players and examiners

• Boost your chances of passing well!

A two-day multidisciplinary course for hospital and community staff for GPs, nurses, healtcare workers and anyone who cares for people in their last year or so of life.

The London Headache and Facial Pain Symposium is unique in its comprehensive approach to facial pain. This topic will be addressed by international experts with differing perspectives. These include the general practitioner, the pain specialist, the neurologist, the radiotherapist and the neurosurgeon.

The course will provide delegates with extensive teaching on the diagnosis, pathogenesis and treatment of facial pain and trigeminal neuralgia. On completion attendees will be equipped with the skills required to diagnose and treat patients with facial pain.

For the full programme including speakers and costs please click here.

The course is aimed at GPs with a range of interests and experience, including trainees fulfilling dermatology requirements of the RCGP curriculum, trainees approaching MRCGP examinations, established salaried GPs and partners looking to update their dermatology knowledge, dermatology clinical assistants, dermatology GPSIs or those with potential roles in commissioning dermatology services. The course is also suitable for physicians with an interest in dermatology (specifically medical and genito-urinary trainees).

Whether you choose to attend for one, two or three days, this course will provide you with a comprehensive, practical and enjoyable overview of dermatology, backed-up by the latest evidence and up-to-the-minute clinical guidelines.