Refer to the respiratory medicine service

Find out how to refer patients to our respiratory medicine service.

GP referrals

Please use NHS e-Referrals to refer a patient to our respiratory services. 

Prior to referral

If you are referring a patient with a productive cough, please send details of any recent sputum microbiology, and/or provide the patient with a sample pot for the morning of their appointment.

Please arrange for the patient to have a chest x-ray at the hospital you intend to refer to. This should take place prior to referral or on the day of referral so images can be accessed at the clinic appointment.

If the patient has had imaging at another hospital and you are not referring to that hospital please indicate which hospital clearly on the referral so that this imaging may be retrieved and reviewed.

Please send the results of any relevant blood tests and inform us of any relevant social circumstances that are impacting the patient's health and wellbeing.

Additional information

• Patients with suspected cancer should be referred according to cancer network guidelines as a two week wait referral
• Patients under 16 years old should be referred to children's services
• Patients with sleep disorders should be referred to Charing Cross sleep service
• Patients with pulmonary hypertension should be referred directly to these specialist services and not to the general respiratory services

GP advice

GPs and practice staff can contact our respiratory medical specialists directly with clinical queries and questions through the Trust’s GP advice service.

For enquiries regarding respiratory, please email respiratoryadvice.imperial@nhs.net

Please note, this service is for enquiries from GPs and practice staff only. If you are a patient with a query, please contact our patient advice and liaison service (PALS).

Secondary care

All referrals must be made via the GP. In general, we would not expect other secondary care organisations to refer to the general respiratory services.

Referrals from other secondary care organisations to our specialist respiratory services should be made directly to those services and not to the general service.