Referral Pathways in Coventry and Warwickshire
Due to the separate CCG’s in the area, we have slightly different referral protocols across Coventry, Rugby, North & South Warwickshire at the moment. This page has all of the referral pathways for the different areas in Coventry and Warwickshire. Please check where the patient’s GP is based and refer as appropriate.
University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire Eye Casualty (UHCW) – Emergency
UHCW Eye Casualty accepts referrals for emergency and urgent cases from Optometrists in Coventry, Rugby, North Warwickshire, and now the South Warwickshire area.
Please be advised that the process for eye emergencies has changed. UHCW eye casualty is NO LONGER A WALK IN SERVICE (please do not advise a patient to come straight down to eye casualty)
Please advise patients to book a telephone triage appointment via UHCW Eye Casualty Swift Queue or offer TRIAGE NUMBER FOR PATIENTS: 02476964800
The eye casualty line is open Monday to Friday (9:00am – 1:00pm and 1:30pm – 5:00pm) excluding bank holidays. Saturday reduced hours (9:00am-12:00pm)
Please see leaflet below with QR code on information with information on how patients can access UHCW eye casualty:
UHCW Eye Casualty Access Information for Patients
TRIAGE NUMBER FOR CLINICIAN TO CLINICIAN (this is available through the practice – if you are a locum Optometrist, please ask the store for this number). This number should NOT be given to patients and is only for health care professionals to speak to eye casualty directly regarding their patient either for advice or for their patient to be seen.
If we feel it is an ACUTE issue and requires to be seen in Eye Casualty, we will book a time slot for the patient to attend for. If you are unsure if this needs to be seen in Eye Casualty, please follow the Eye Casualty triage tool.
Triage tool for UHCW Eye Casualty COVID
When you call the eye casualty line, you will be spoken to by a clinician (either an Orthoptist, Optometrist, or Ophthalmologist)
For advice out of hours, please call NHS 111 or seek advice from the emergency department.
UHCW E-Referrals
Optometrists from Coventry, Rugby, North, and South Warwickshire can use E-referrals to refer their patients.
This referral pathway is to UHCW only. This is NOT for same day emergency referrals, please refer to information above regarding this. It is also not for WET AMD referrals, please read below for this separate pathway. This e-referral pathway is for patients who need to be seen urgently within 3 days.
The e-referral service is manned from 9am-1.00pm, 1.30- 4.30pm. Monday to Friday- excluding Bank Holidays
Referral process:
Please send the e-referral to UHCW.eyecasualty@NHS.net using referral form located just below (named as Emergency Eye Clinic referral form). Ideally, you would need to send this via the practice NHS.net account If you do not have access to this, you can send this from your personal NHS.net account.
ALSO, from 01/02/2022, in addition to the above, all patients need to be booked a telephone call back via swiftqueue for e-referrals. This allows UHCW Eye Casualty to get in touch with the patient and the patient is aware of the time frame for a callback.
When booking the telephone appointment via swiftqueue please can the optometrist write that an e-referral has been sent in the comment section.
Swiftqueue have opened up access for each optometry practice to be registered as GPs on their system. Each practice can register as a GP at https://www.swiftqueue.co.uk/gpfacilitylogin.php and click on register. When completing the registration form, ensure that an email address is chosen that all colleagues at the practice can access. The system will request a “Secure Code” under the practice details for registration, please email secretary@coventryandwarwickshireloc.com if you do not have this code. Once the practice is registered, optometrists can log-in and book telephone appointments.
Please continue to send paediatric e-referrals to uhcw.paediatriceyecasualty@nhs.net .A swiftqueue appointment does NOT need to be booked for paediatric patients.
Emergency Eye Clinic Referral Form
Once sent from the email account:
1 ) Email received in inbox and automatic reply is sent to practitioner to confirm receipt
2) Referral is then read by optometrist
N.B. If there is not enough information on the referral to make a clinical decision then the optometrist will send an email back to the practice requesting more information and rejecting the referral. The automatic reply will inform the optometrist that this will happen.
If a referral is sent over the weekend inappropriately, the responsibility lies with the referring clinician till the referral is accepted.
Please bare in mind that this service is not read over the weekend. Please do not use this for immediate emergency referrals.
SPAMEDICA COVENTRY
Optometrists within the Coventry, Rugby, North and South Warwickshire can refer patients for cataract extractions and YAG laser directly to SpaMedica Coventry without referring via the GP.
This can be done via an electronic referral form which can be sent via email, fax or post. Referrals sent via email MUST be sent from an NHS.NET account and not a personal account. Referrals via post can be sent to SpaMedica – Referrals, 43 Churchgate, Bolton, BL1 1HU.
Please find below the electronic referral form which includes all of the relevant details.
SpaMedica Direct Referral Form
CHEC (Community Health and Eye Care)
Optometrists within the Coventry, Rugby and North Warwickshire area can refer patients for cataract extractions and YAG laser to CHEC via a referral to the GP.
CHEC also has a post cataract shared care scheme with local optometry practices. The link below details further information on how to take part.
CHEC Cataract Share Care Leaflet
CHEC in Coventry also offers general ophthalmology services for the whole of Warwickshire, Coventry and Rugby. Please see the link below detailing further information on the general ophthalmology services offered by CHEC.
For South Warwickshire Optometrists referring to CHEC, please see below for further guidance.
SOUTH WARWICKSHIRE REFERRAL PATHWAY – CHEC
For patients with a South Warwickshire GP, referrals are sent to Community Health and EyeCare(CHEC) via the CHEC portal or eRS/NHS.net email.
Please open the link below for all information about CHEC, when to use CHEC and how to use and set-up the CHEC portal.
South Warwickshire Referral Pathway April 2021
Also, to help with cross border referrals, those patients registered with a Worcestershire GP can be referred using the CHEC portal. The link below directs you to Worcestershire’s LOC website for further information on their referral guidance.
https://www.locworcestershire.co.uk/
Fast Track Referral Pathway for WET AMD / DMO / RVO
For Coventry and Rugby patients please refer WETAMD/DMO/RVO patients to UHCW on uhcw.wetamd@nhs.net
For South Warwickshire patients please refer WETAMD/DMO/RVO patients to Warwick/Stratford eye department (swft) on ophthalmologyurgentref@swft.nhs.uk should you wish to, rather than using the CHEC portal.
For North Warwickshire patients please refer WETAMD/DMO/RVO patients to CampHill NewMedica on warwickshirenorth.amd@nhs.net
Please use the separate referral forms below when emailing via the fast track referral pathway.
WET AMD Fast Track Referral Form
Diabetic Macula Oedema (DMO) Fast Track Referral Form
Retinal Vein Occlusion (RVO) Fast Track Referral Form
SpaMedica Coventry are also accepting fast track referrals for wet amd. Please use SpaMedica AMD fast-track referral form to refer into SpaMedica.
Please contact Jaspal Sembi at jaspal.sembi@spamedica.co.uk for further information on how to refer to SpaMedica.
CHEC are also accepting fast track referrals for wet AMD which can be submitted through either their bespoke CHEC portal, eRS, NHS.net email or via the GP.
Please contact Faye Belgrove at faye.b@chec.uk who is the NHS Partnership Executive for Coventry and Warwickshire if you would like further information on how to refer to CHEC.