My referral pathway

Helpful information to remember when contacting Devon Referral Support Services:

You can contact Devon Referral Support Service (DRSS) between Monday-Friday, 10:00-16:00, we are closed on Bank Holidays by:

If you need your letter to be sent to you in a larger print, braille, or in another language please ring 01626 883888 to talk to the staff.

An e-learning tool is available on the below link and has been created to support the people of Devon to navigate the growing digital services from local GPs and healthcare providers. It gives step by step guides on how to use online services in your area, take a look here: https://www.digitalhealthdevon.co.uk/

Please note if you contact DRSS whilst you are driving, even using hands-free, we will not be able to continue the call and we will arrange a suitable time to call you back.

My routine / urgent referral pathway

At your GP, Dental or Optician’s appointment, your clinician may discuss with you the possibility of a referral for a specialist opinion. This section explains this process, highlighting the different outcomes that could result from being referred.

Step 1

Your GP (or other healthcare professional) will discuss the available options with you; this may include referral for a specialist opinion.

Step 2

If your healthcare professional decides to seek a specialist opinion, they will submit a referral for you electronically.

Step 3

Your referral will be reviewed to ensure all necessary information is included in the letter.

Your GP may decide to seek specialist opinion on your care for a number of reasons:

  • You may need specialist advice because the steps you and your GP have taken to manage your condition are no longer working
  • You may have treatment needs that exceed the experience of the person referring you and your GP might want to discuss potential options with a specialist
  • You may have complex health needs that require care at a specialist level
  • You may have problems that require a team approach i.e. your health needs encompass more than one specialty
  • You may need a test, procedure or service that is not carried out at your local practice

Possible outcomes following review

Please click on the sections below for more information on the possible outcomes following the review of your referral letter.

Advice and Guidance

Your referral may require a review from a clinical specialist. The specialist may decide to provide your referring clinician with advice and guidance to help manage your condition within Primary Care (your GP surgery), rather than with the hospital. Your GP practice should contact you within a few days of receiving this information, but if you do not hear anything we would advise contacting them and they will be able to give you the information provided by the specialist and will arrange the appropriate next steps with you.

The referral is not needed at this time

It may be decided that your referral requires more information, or the reasons for the referral do not meet local policy criteria. In this instance, your referral will be returned to your GP with advice. Your GP practice should contact you to discuss the next steps, but if you are not contact by your GP, we would advise for you to contact them directly.

Further review / an appointment

If the review of your referral results in a recommendation for a further review/appointment Devon Referral Support Service (DRSS) will either contact you by phone or by letter to book an appointment, however if there are no appointments available they will send your referral letter to the nearest service that offers the treatment required. Once a test or appointment has been arranged, a confirmation letter will be sent to you from that service.

Please note that not all patients will follow the above process; this is often the case for referrals from Dentists, Opticians, Physiotherapists or Podiatrists. If you have any questions regarding the referral process for these referrals it is best to ask your referring clinician on what to expect and what your next steps will be.

Patient Initiated Follow-up (PIFU)

PIFU puts people in control of when they see their specialist. Patients initiate the follow-up appointment, instead of the hospital – this is why this process is called patient-initiated follow-up.

With PIFU, people can get advice from their clinical team when they need it and if necessary, a review appointment.

Some people may find their condition flares up in between regular booked appointments, and it’s at this point that patients really do need input from their specialist.

Urgent Suspected Cancer referral pathway

An ‘Urgent Suspected Cancer’ referral is a request from your clinician (General Practitioner, Dentist or Optician) for an urgent appointment at your local hospital, because you have symptoms that may indicate cancer. In most cases this means the hospital will aim to see you very soon.  Potentially within a few days.

Does this mean I have cancer?

Not necessarily. It is certainly normal to worry when being referred urgently to the hospital, but most people who have an urgent referral don’t get diagnosed with cancer.

Cancer Research UK reported that more than 9 in every 10 people (90%) referred this way will not be diagnosed with cancer.

Referral Pathway

Your first appointment could be over the phone or at the hospital. You will receive contact from the hospital to confirm your appointment details.

Your clinician will send a referral directly to your local provider, who will be able to offer the treatment requested.

Once your local provider has received your referral information, they will contact you directly to book in an appointment, this may include a consultation, a test or an investigation.

Once you have received your appointment date it is very important that you attend. Please call the number on your confirmation letter to let the hospital know immediately if you are unable to keep your appointment.

What does your clinician need to know?

Make sure your clinician has your most up-to-date address and preferred contact telephone numbers.

When your clinician informs you that they are going to refer you for an Urgent Suspected Cancer referral, please advise them if you are unable to attend an appointment within the next couple of weeks.

If you have not received an appointment from the hospital within a couple weeks, please contact your clinician

Useful information

 

More information about your local referral service

  • Click here to download a helpful national leaflet explaining the referral process. Please note that the process will differ locally.
  • For more information about Devon Referral Support Services, click here.

The Armed Forces community and accessing healthcare

For most health needs, our local services are well-placed to provide excellent care. Most veterans leave their service time healthy, well and looking forward to their new lives. For a few, with more service-related complicated or specialist issues, a range of dedicated physical and mental health services are available. Click here to find out more about the services available to the Armed Forces community in Devon.

Help with health costs

The National Health Service (NHS) is, mainly, for the benefit of people living in the United Kingdom (UK). If a person is accepted for NHS treatment it is generally free, although there can be charges for some things. Being exempt from charges for NHS treatment will depend on a number of conditions; you can find out more from NHS website or the NHS Business Authority.

These websites set out information about who does not have to pay charges and also tells you about the help you might get with the cost of a range of services provided by the NHS and help with travel costs.

Looking after your information

What is information governance?

Information is a vital asset, both in terms of the clinical management of individual patients and the efficient organisation of services and resources. Both ICB’s across Devon aim to safeguard patient confidentiality and maintain data security whilst empowering staff within both ICB’s to perform their role using key information governance principles

Why is information governance important?

Information governance (IG) is the way in which the NHS handles all of its information, in particular the personal and sensitive information relating to patients and employees. It provides a framework to ensure that personal information is dealt with legally, securely, efficiently and effectively, in order to deliver the best possible care. It also offers NHS employees a clear structure to deal consistently with the many different rules about how information is handled, including those set out in:

Follow the link to find out more about Information Governance and NHS Devon ICB’s policy.