Refer to the pulmonary hypertension service

Find out how to refer patients to our pulmonary hypertension service.

Primary care

Primary care providers who wish to refer a patient to our service should use NHS e-Referrals to do so. Please include the severity of symptoms and results of procedures specified below.

If patients have to travel a long distance or have special needs, we are happy to see them as a day case or occasionally as an overnight stay.

A first degree family member of one of our patients who has heritable or idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension may request screening. We are happy to see any adult first degree relative without prior tests – please use e-Referrals to refer to our service. Children should be referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Secondary care

Secondary care providers should email referral letters to: ICHC-tr.NPHS@nhs.net. 

Please include the following with your referral:

• the severity of symptoms according to the New York Heart Association functional class
• the results of the following procedures:
  • routine blood tests
  • electrocardiogram
  • chest x-ray
  • echocardiography

If you would like to discuss a patient who may be suitable for referral please phone us on 020 3313 1000 and bleep the registrar on 9033 or email as above. 

Inter-hospital transfer of patients can be arranged and must be endorsed by a consultant at the referring hospital. If you would like discuss referral, please call the pulmonary hypertension registrar on 020 3313 1000 bleep 9033 in hours or the on-call cardiology registrar on bleep 9064 out of hours to discuss the clinical problem and degree of urgency. You will also need to complete an inter-hospital transfer form in addition to the information requested above, which we will email to you after discussion.

Once your referral has been accepted by our staff and the bed manager has confirmed a bed is available, please transfer your patient to the service from Monday through Friday from 08.00 and 17.00. This is to ensure that the pulmonary hypertension team will be available to receive the patient.

When patients are aged over 65 or when they have health and social care needs likely to affect their safe discharge home, our policy is to transfer the patient back to the care of their referring consultant and the referring hospital, as soon as diagnosis and a treatment plan are completed.

If patients have to travel a long distance or have special needs, we are happy to see them as a day case or occasionally as an overnight stay.

Self-referrals

We do not accept self-referrals – if you would like to be referred to our service, please speak to your GP or hospital consultant.

You must be entitled to NHS care and be registered with a GP in the UK in order to be referred to our service – we do not accept referrals of patients who are not entitled to NHS care.

Private referrals

Our service does not oversee the care of private patients. Those wishing to be seen privately should contact the consultants’ private secretaries directly. Visit Imperial Private Healthcare for more information.