We understand that many patients are concerned about the length of time it is currently taking within the NHS to obtain timely referrals into hospitals for clinics and or surgery.

Covid-19 has affected waiting times for many services and are continually subject to change.

Whilst your GPs and Nurses at Reservoir Road Surgery are acutely aware of these issues, there is nothing that we or our staff can do in these circumstances.

Our advice is to contact the https:/Patient Advice And Liaison Service (PALS) and discuss the matter with them. They have direct access to NHS Hospital  Services and can act on your behalf.

REFERRALS

If a clinician has referred you for ongoing investigation or care you can make direct contact with the care provider for an update by calling the appropriate number listed below. Please do not ask the reception staff to chase on your behalf unless you have been referred under the 2 week rule (and have been waiting for longer than 2 weeks) or are unable to make contact yourself.

It can be a worrying time waiting for appointments and understandably you wish to be seen as soon as possible to discuss your ongoing health concerns.

Appointment letters are reviewed by the specialist teams, once they have received the referral, and are often then placed in an order of priority for future appointments. We understand at times that this can be frustrating as it may mean you are waiting longer than you anticipate to be seen.  We are not always aware of the length of waiting times to be seen and thus cannot always tell you this at the time a referral is made.

Approximate Waiting Times

Please see a list of clinics below for approximate routine waiting times for first outpatient appointments:

UHB (Queen Elizabeth Hospital):

Cardiology – 20 weeks from the date of referral
Dermatology – 19 weeks from the date of referral
ENT – 23 weeks from the date of referral
Pain Management – 18 weeks from the date of referral
Neurology – 31 weeks from the date of referral
Respiratory – 16 weeks from the date of referral
Sleep Clinic/Lung Function – 18 weeks from the date of referral
Ultrasound/MRI Scan – 16 weeks from the date of the referral
Urology – 27 weeks from the date of the referral

Birmingham Children’s Hospital (Paediatrics):

Allergy clinic – 16 weeks from the date of referral
Dermatology – 18 weeks from the date of the referral
ENT – 18 weeks from the date of the referral
General Paediatrics – 20 weeks from the date of referral
Orthopaedics – 18 weeks from the date of the referral
Respiratory – 18 weeks from the date of the referral
Urology – 18 weeks from the date of referral

Birmingham Women’s Hospital:

Gynaecology – 18 weeks from the date of the referral

Birmingham Chest Clinic:

Allergy – 18 weeks from the date of the referral
Chest – 18 weeks from the date of the referral

**Please note that these are the current indicative wait times and you may be seen sooner or may have to wait longer than these times.

Helpful Phone Numbers

Please see a list of useful phone numbers below that you can use to chase your hospital appointment if you have not received an appointment after the indicative wait times above.

UHB (Queen Elizabeth Hospital) booking centre: 0121 371 7070
UHB (Queen Elizabeth Hospital) switch board: 0121 627 2000
Royal Orthopaedic Hospital booking centre: 0121 685 4186
Royal Orthopaedic Hospital switch board: 0121 685 4000
Birmingham Children’s Hospital booking centre: 0121 333 9700
Birmingham Children’s Hospital switch board: 0121 333 9999
Birmingham Women’s Hospital booking centre: 0121 335 8100
Birmingham Women’s Hospital switch board: 0121 472 1377
Heartlands and Solihull Hospital booking centre: 0121 424 1234
Heartlands and Solihull Hospital switch board: 0121 424 2000
Birmingham Chest Clinic switchboard: 0121 424 1950