Nurse-led vetting of choose and book referrals into sub-specialty ear, nose and throat clinics

Abstract

Background/Aims The electronic ‘choose and book’ referral system can lead to patients being allocated to inappropriate ear, nose and throat sub-specialty clinics. Internal re-referrals to the more appropriate sub-specialty clinic is inefficient, leads to wasted appointments and is frustrating for both clinicians and patients. This study aimed to implement a nurse-led vetting system to ensure that new referrals were sent to the appropriate sub-specialty for their first appointment. Methods A team of three nurses were given guidelines and trained to assess GP referrals so that they could re-allocate inappropriate referrals to more appropriate sub-specialty ear, nose and throat clinics before their first appointment. The number of referrals that were re-allocated was calculated. Results Implementing a nurse-led vetting system of GP referrals led to 110/400 (28%) of cases being re-allocated to a more suitable sub-specialty clinic before initial consultation. The expertise of the nurse-led team was found to be sufficient, particularly when supplemented with additional training, to perform this task. Conclusions Nurse-led vetting of choose and book referrals is an efficient way of checking referrals to ensure that patients are sent to the appropriate clinic. This can increase the overall efficiency of the clinic and prevent the wasting of time and resources on inappropriate referrals.