- Wherever possible, we advocate that patients requiring secondary care assessment or admission are referred direct to the relevant specialty rather than the Emergency Department (ED)
- Referring patients direct to specialty teams supports our hospital colleagues by improving patient flow through acute trusts, and is in line with our aim to get patients the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
- If an ED attendance is deemed the only appropriate option, please consider calling the ED advice lines to discuss with a member of the ED team. Phone numbers are listed here.
- Patients should be should generally be referred into the hospital affiliated with their GP surgery. However some specialties are only hosted at a specific site in BNSSG (see the end of this page for details).
- If you are unsure about the correct pathway for your patient, please speak to the Clinical Coordinator or Shift Manager.
- To support you in the above, we have collated a selection of numbers you may find helpful to refer your patients directly in your OOH work
Medical referrals
- BRI: Medical SpR via switchboard (0117 342 1952) or 0117 923 0000
- NBT:
- Clinical Advice from Acute Medical Unit Consultant 08:00-22:00: 0117 414 9216 and from the Medical SpR via switchboard 0117 414 3999 outside of these times. You can also read the Medical SpR through the Admissions Hub.
- Admissions Hub (to admit the patient): 0117 414 0700
- WGH: Medical SpR via switchboard on 01934 636 363, bleep 219
Surgical referrals
- BRI: 0117 3427771. Line available 24/7 Mon-Sun. Between the hours of Mon - Sun 9am-5pm this is answered by a surgical triage team and outside of this by a member of the surgical team.
- NBT: 0117 4140700 Surgical Triage Nurse line - 7am - 7pm Mon -Sunday. Outside of these hours the NBT line will divert to the admissions hub.
- WGH: Surgical team via switch on 01934 636363
Gynaecology referrals
UHBW and NBT share the rota for emergency gynaecology admissions. This remedy page has details of which team is on call at any particular time.
- NBT: Gynae SHO via switchboard: (0117 414 3999 or 0117 9505050)
- UHBW: Gynae SpR on bleep 3378 via switchboard on 0117 921 5411
Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit Referrals
Please see this page on Remedy for further information
Bristol Haematology & Oncology Acute Care
- Patients who are currently known to BHOC, and who are experiencing side effects of their treatment have access to this 7 day service.
- Both patients and Healthcare professionals can contact the triage team on 0117 342 2011 (24 hours a day) to seek advice on the management of symptoms and to refer patients.
- More information about the service can be found here on Remedy
Bristol Childrens Hospital ED referrals
If you are sending children to BCH ED: Further details can be found here on the toolkit
ED Advice Lines
Consider calling for advice from emergency department clinicians for instances where it is unclear if an ED attendance is appropriate
- BRI Consultant Line: 07345 463679
- NBT Consultant line: 0117 414 3021
- Weston Consultant line: 07393 268850
- Bristol Children's Hospital Advice line: 0117 342 8078/0117 342 8666
Specialties at specific sites
BRI: Max Fax, ENT, Eye hospital, Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre, Bristol Heart Institute (for STEMIs but all other acute cardiology presentations can generally be dealt with at their local hospital).
NBT: Stroke, Neurosurgery, Plastics, Urology, Breast Surgeons, Vascular Surgery, Neurology. Renal is based at NBT but we would generally suggest contacting the renal team direct if sending here purely for this reason.