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).

Please note, all referrals are triaged by the receiving service. This may result in the urgency of your referral being downgraded or changed and this decision is made by the receiving service specialist. Patients will be updated if the urgency of their referral changes. 

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 the NHS England guide to NHS waiting times: 

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/hospitals/guide-to-nhs-waiting-times-in-england/

You can access waiting times for NHS specialities in the North West by visiting: https://www.myplannedcare.nhs.uk/nwest/

Please visit the following page to view the NHS England guidance on 'your choices in the NHS': https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-the-nhs/your-choices-in-the-nhs/ 

Important notification regarding ADHD Service right to choose:

Under the NHS Right to Choose, you have the option to select a provider for your ADHD assessment, including private providers offering NHS-funded services. While this offers greater choice and flexibility, it is important to understand the implications for your ongoing care should you receive a diagnosis and begin treatment.

If you are diagnosed with ADHD and medication is recommended you will be monitored by your chosen service until titration and dose stabilisation, the ongoing prescribing and monitoring of ADHD medication should be carried out under a Shared Care Protocol arrangement with your chosen service and your GP Practice.

You must remain under the care of the provider who initiated your treatment. This ensures continuity of care and allows for appropriate monitoring of your condition. Unfortunately, we have found that some providers discharge patients after diagnosis and initial medication prescribing. When this happens, the GP practice is unable to continue issuing medication without input from the ADHD specialist care provider, as per NHS prescribing guidelines.

To avoid disruption in your treatment, we strongly advise checking with your chosen provider about their long-term care arrangements before proceeding with an assessment. Specifically, you should confirm:

• Whether they will continue overseeing your ADHD treatment and medication management.
• If they facilitate shared care agreements with GP practices.
• The process for ongoing prescriptions and follow-up appointments.

If a provider does not offer long-term support and a shared care agreement, you may need to explore alternative options to ensure you receive the necessary ongoing care.

If you have any questions or need further guidance, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are here to support you in making an informed decision about your ADHD care.

Click here for more information on Shared Care Prescribing and how this might impact your care. 

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.

**Note - GP Practices are overwhelmed with a high number of requests to expedite appointments. Due to the volume of patients requests for appointments to be expedited with the hospital, they are having little impact on the time taken to be seen. 

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.