CHEC has developed easy to use referral services to ensure patients are received securely and promptly. On receipt, every patient referral undergoes a consultant level triage for urgency and to ensure the patients follow our evidence-based pathway from the start. The required diagnostic tests are undertaken, before seeing the ophthalmologist/clinician to ensure we offer as many one-stop services as possible, limiting patient visits and maintaining our short waiting times for the first consult.
For cataract surgery we always aim for a one stop shop with over 90% of patients having a booked consultation within 8 days of receiving the referral.
E-referral Service
The e-referral service is the national service for referring patients to our services. The ERS, for short, is managed by the Department of Health as an independent service. If referrers have the capability the E-referral service should be used as the primary source for all referrals, ensuring secure patient data transfer. The service is available all day every day throughout the year. Often the ERS service runs through a referral management centre, ensuring patients are offered the choice of provider that is convenient to them. The referral management centres generally offer the choice of the nearest three hospitals and provide waiting times for surgery.
For optometrists, the most secure way of sending referrals and maintaining data governance is to use the secure CHEC portal for referrals. Our engagement team will be happy to set this up for you. It’s simple to use and best of all, you receive an email receipt confirming we have received the referral.
We can use the more traditional referral mechanisms. Please download our referral forms, whether for cataract surgery, general ophthalmology or cataracts and send them by one of the means below:
fax:
Fax: 01772 795620
By post:
