Referrals

Referrals at Grove House Surgery can take up to seven working days to process from the date that this was discussed with the GP/clinician.  If we have a mobile number for you, we will text you once the referral has been sent.  Should you not receive a text, please contact the Medical Secretaries on 01243 265222 option 4.

Secondary Care Referrals (hospital)

Referral forms and letters are processed by the medical secretaries and are sent to the Referral Support Team (RST) who will add the referral to the Electronic Referral System (ERS). 

If you wish to be seen at a different hospital to St Richard’s or wish to discuss alternative hospitals with shorter wait times, the Referral Support Team are able to assist with this..  They can also advise on current wait times.  You are able to contact them on 01903 708470 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday between 11am and 4pm (except Bank Holidays)

Once the referral has been through the Referral Support Team, it will be dealt with by the appointments team.  Their numbers are below:

For secondary care referrals (hospital): Tel. 01273 446067 (covering St Richard’s. Worthing and Southlands Hospitals)

Secondary care ENT appointments:  Tel. 02392 681700

There are some referrals that do not go via the RST e.g. stroke/TIA referrals, rapid access chest pain clinics etc,.  If your referral is not dealt with by the RST, please contact the Grove House secretaries for further advice.

Radiology Referrals

Texts are not sent out to patients who have been referred for radiological investigations.  Referrals are usually sent electronically to either St Richard’s or Bognor War Memorial Hospital and they will contact you directly.  Bognor Hospital are only able to do certain ultrasound investigations, so you may find you will be referred to St Richard’s.

Contact numbers are as follows:-  

• St Richard’s Hospital Radiology - 012432 831781
• Bognor Regis War Memorial Radiology - 01243 623673

Community Referrals

There are community options for some specialities including ENT and dermatology

These are also processed by the Referral Support Team via the Electronic Referral System.  You can also discuss these by phoning 01903 708470.  

Musculoskeletal/Orthopaedic/Pain clinic/Physiotherapy Referrals

These referrals also go via the Referral Support Team, once they have been through the ERS system, they are sent to Bognor Regis War Memorial Hospital Musculoskeletal Triage service. Your referral will be viewed by a clinician and it will be decided which service you will be seen by.

You can phone them on Tel. 01243 623548 to discuss this further, to find out which service you will be seen by and what the wait times are.

Cancer Referrals

Referrals for suspected cancer are sent within 24 hours of the referral being agreed between you and your GP.  These are sent to a designated department and you should be seen within a few weeks.  We send out letters and texts to patients to inform them that their referral has been sent along with the telephone number to chase up an appointment.  This number is 01903 205111 extension 84997.  

Should you not hear about an appointment, please do contact this number or contact the secretaries at Grove House – see number below.

Mental Health Referrals

Routine adult mental health referrals are sent to a central triage service.  They are not sent via the Referral Support Service.  They will contact you directly.  If you are concerned about your appointment please call 0300 304 0400.

Children’s mental health referrals – please ring the medical secretaries at Grove House on the number below.

Other Referrals

There are many other referrals that do not go via the Referral Support Service, these are usually sent directly to the department. E.g.  dietitians, cardiac investigations, falls service, orthotics, podiatry, weight management etc.   It is best to wait to hear directly from the service that you have been referred to or contact Grove House medical secretaries who can advise further if you have any queries.

Private Referrals

We are able to refer you for private consultations.  You will need to make your own investigations as to where you would like to be seen.  The secretaries can only offer limited advice on local private hospitals.  Please use Google or telephone the private hospital concerned to find out about wait times, costs and availability of consultants.  Once you have decided who you want to see, please let the secretaries know so that the referral can be forwarded to the relevant hospital. 

Please do contact the medical secretaries at Grove House Surgery on 01243 265222 option 4 if you still need any further help or advice if the above options have not proved helpful.