Referring to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

We have significantly reduced waiting times to ensure that 95% of patients are treated within 18 weeks of referral. Our goal is to make the referral process straightforward, efficient and reliable for both you and your patients.

Services available on the NHS eReferral Service (eRS)

We strongly recommend using eRS for referrals, as it provides a clear audit trail for both primary and secondary care. Nearly all our services—nearly 200 clinics—are bookable through eRS, and we regularly update the system with new services. Please refer to eRS for the most current list.

Direct booking

Hospital appointments can be booked by the GP or patient during the GP visit, or later by telephone or online using the national appointment booking service.

If no appointments are available on eRS, please ask the patient to call the national Telephone Appointments Line (TAL) on 0345 608 8888. Calls are included in most allowances, or charged at standard geographic rates.

The referral letter should be attached within three days of referral for routine cases, and one day for urgent cases. This enables us to confirm if the patient has been booked in to the correct clinic at the correct priority level, and ensures that the consultant has all the necessary information when seeing the patient.

Indirect booking

Some services, such as maternity, are available only through indirect booking. This means the patient can be referred via eRS but not booked into an appointment slot directly. For these services, the patient must contact the hospital directly to schedule their appointment

Exempt services

The following services are not available on eRS. Please send referrals directly to the appointments office at chelwest.gpreferrals@nhs.net:

• Acute Diagnostic Oncology Clinic
• Ambulatory Emergency Care clinics
• Community services
• Dental referrals
• Diagnostics
• Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit
• ED/UCC referrals
• Fracture Clinic
• Learning Disability services
• Mental Health services
• Oncology services
• Termination of Pregnancy services
• Therapies
• Transient Ischaemic Attack Clinic

Specialist services

Radiology

Please email radiology referrals to caw-tr.radiology@nhs.net.

Acute Diagnostic Oncology Unit

For patients requiring urgent attention (unable to wait 2 weeks for an appointment), refer them to the Acute Diagnostic Oncology Clinic by calling 020 3315 5000 option 6.

E: chelwest.acuteoncology@nhs.net
T: 020 8746 8000 bleep 5019
F: 020 3315 8863 (marking the fax for attention of the Acute Oncology Unit)

Please note that standard 2WW referrals must be made via eRS.

Anal cancer

Patients are referred to the Chelsea Anogenital Neoplasia Service (CANS) through tertiary referrals from other hospitals and internal Trust referrals. Currently, GP referrals and self-referrals are not accepted.

• Please email tertiary referrals to chelwest.anogenitaldysplasiaservice@nhs.net

CANS guidelines are available for both internal and external referrals:

• CANS guidelines for internal referrals
• CANS guidelines for external referrals

Children’s surgery referrals (North West London)

Information coming soon.

Colposcopy

Please email colposcopy referrals to caw-tr.directreferral@nhs.net.

Early pregnancy unit (EPU)

Please email EPU referrals to chelsea.epag@nhs.net. If a patient is incorrectly referred, we will inform the referrer via return email.

Menopause POI and PMS service

Referrals: Please consult the eRS directory of service (DOS) before submitting new referrals and ensure that minimum criteria are met—for example, as per NICE guidelines, uncomplicated menopausal women should try at least one HRT preparation prior to referral.

Advice and guidance: Can be sought via eRS for any patient, current or otherwise, with the option for conversion to a referral. Please note that advice and guidance queries cannot be answered via email.

Results: Send investigation results to caw-tr.menopause@nhs.net.

Management plans and discharges: Patients are usually discharged after the first or second appointment with a comprehensive follow-up plan covering at least six months. Ongoing advice and guidance is available via eRS, and a new referral may be recommended if issues persist. Common management plans are available under the resources section below.

Resources:

• HRT principles of practice
• HRT recommended treatment plans
• Information for patients and service users about Trust menopause and POI/PMS services

Ileoanal J-pouch one-stop clinic

Please email referrals for this clinic to chelwest.j-pouch@nhs.net. Patients can also self-refer at this address.

Rapid Access Chest Pain Clinic

Tongue tie clinic

Referrals to the tongue tie clinic are only accepted from a qualified infant feeding supporter. The referral form should be completed with your contact number and email address.