BHRUT – Routine ultrasound scan referrals – Change of Community provider – Healthshare

Reminder

Please be advised of the following changes to the way that referrals are to be made for routine ultrasound scan to GP Direct Access  Community IS Providers.

 At the moment, BHRUT are currently redirecting GP/ your routine ultrasound scan referrals to the community provider once it is received by the Trust ( amounting to about 2,000 scans a month)  . This can lead to delays in the patients being  booked and seen by Healthshare 

 From 1 March 2024, GPs should directly refer patients via ERS to Healthshare for routine ultrasound scans for the following examinations:-

• General abdominal; including assessment of the aorta, biliary tract, gallbladder, inferior vena cava, kidneys, liver, pancreas, retroperitoneum, and spleen
• Gynaecology; including transabdominal and transvaginal
• Renal, Bladder and Prostate
• Scrotal testicular 
• Musculoskeletal
• Neck/Thyroids currently on our exclusion list

Following a referral, the scan reports will be sent back via mesh directly to referrers clinical system (Emis/ SystmOne)

The following referrals must be sent directly to BHRUT:

• Patients under 18 years of age for all the above listed examinations
• Cancer: any patient with suspected cancer should be referred through the two weeks wait referral pathway
• Patients requiring an ultrasound guided procedure.
• Patients requiring obstetric care.

Exclusions – Please do not refer the following patients to the Community provider.

• Patients not registered to a GP practice in BHR, TNW or online providers (i.e. GP at hand) in these areas.
• Patients under 18 years of age
• Patients without a valid NHS number

Referring and Booking with Healthshare 

Healthshare,  offer a directly bookable ultrasound service via eRS, allowing patients to access the earliest available appointments at our diagnostic locations. 

Ultrasound referrals submitted via eRS are transferred to our clinical system for triage within 24 hours using our virtual workforce system. However, referrals redirected to us via email require manual processing by our team, which can cause delays. Routine community ultrasound referrals sent to Healthshare directly via eRS ensures a faster and smoother patient journey.

How to refer & book : Healthshare Ultrasound

Please select at least three site options for the requested scan and ensure the correct appointment slot matches the scan type:

• MSK & General (MSK scans)
• General (General scans only)
• Gynae (TA/TV scans)

If no suitable appointments are available at the patient’s preferred site, select an alternative (Healthshare Diagnostics) site or choose “defer to provider.”  Our Referral Management Team will then contact the patient to arrange an appointment at a convenient location.

Urgent findings

Urgent findings picked up by the community provider will be escalated to the referring GP for their immediate action. Report sent via NHS email to the referrer from healthshareltd.criticalfindings@nhs.net Email heading – URGENT ACTION REQUIRED Read receipt activated. Within 24 hours Referrer contacted via telephone to confirm receipt and acknowledgement documented on patient record.

Duplicate request referrals

Please refrain from sending duplicate request referrals via different providers to help us better manage demand and improve the pathway for patients.