Referrals

A referral from a doctor is a written or electronic recommendation for a patient to see another healthcare professional or specialist for further evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment. It is typically issued when a primary care doctor, or another healthcare provider, believes the patient needs specialised care that they are not equipped to provide.

Here are a few common scenarios when a referral might be given:

1. Specialist Care: If a patient needs to see a specialist (like a cardiologist, dermatologist, or orthopedist) for a specific issue that requires their expertise.

2. Diagnostic Tests: If the patient needs tests or imaging that require special equipment or expertise (e.g., MRI, colonoscopy).

3. Second Opinion: When a patient is seeking another professional's opinion on a diagnosis or treatment plan.

4. Treatment Procedures: Some treatments, especially surgical ones, may require a referral to a specialist or hospital.

Referrals help ensure that patients receive the appropriate care from professionals who specialise in the relevant area of health.

The turnaround times for the practice to process your referral are:

• Two week wait referrals - within 48hours 
• Urgent referrals - within 48hours 
• Routine referrals - between 5-10 working days

You will receive an SMS from our secretaries when your referral has been sent to the WRAG team, if you have not received this within the timescale specified above, please contact our secretary team on 01925 650226 (option 5).

When you are referred, your referral is passed to a service called the Warrington Referral Assistance Gateway (WRAG) team who deal with all appointments and bookings. The WRAG service takes over all control of your referral after we have sent this over to them, they deal with all appointments and general enquiries.

Please contact the WRAG team with any enquiries on: 

0800 652 6926

(free when calling from a landline)

01925 377 520

(free when calling from a mobile)

Please visit the following website to view waiting times for NHS specialities in the North West: https://www.myplannedcare.nhs.uk/nwest/

After your referral has been processed by the practice, it is the responsibility of the Warrington Referral Assistance Gateway (WRAG) team and hospital to arrange an appointment for you.

Our service is currently innundated with requests for patients asking for support due to delayed referrals, we would politely request that all patient enquiries are directed to the appropriate team below. After we have processed your referral, the practice is unfortunately limited on how we can help after this time. 

To view waiting times for NHS specialities in the North West: https://www.myplannedcare.nhs.uk/nwest/

For a referral update, call the WRAG team on: 01772 660011.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, you can contact the PALS team on 01925 662281.

The hospital is receiving a high number of requests to expedite appointments and expedite requests are having little impact on the time taken to be seen. 

However; if you would like to request for your appointment to be expedited, we require a written request from you (the patient) stating what appointment you require expediting and specific reasons for this. We are not providing clinical requests to expedite appointments at this time. If your clinician feels you require seeing urgently based on your clinical presentation, then they will request for your referral to be upgraded. 

Please contact our Secretarial team on 01925 650226 (option 5) for more information.