Ear, nose and throat (ENT) service
Ear, nose and throat (ENT)
GP referrals
All NHS GP referrals must be submitted using the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS). Referrals sent by email or post from NHS GPs will not be processed.
Referrals from other hospitals
Please email your to us.
Referrals from other hospitals must include a completed inter-provider minimum data set. Make sure one is sent within 48 hours of making a referral.
2-week wait referrals
GPs should make 2-week wait (2WW) referrals on e-RS. Please use the most up to date pan-London referral form.
Non-GP referrals should be emailed to [email protected].
Emergency referrals
We run an emergency referral clinic from Monday to Friday.
Email your referral to [email protected] or bleep the on-call ENT senior house officer (SHO) on 1508.
Please make sure your referral fulfils the emergency clinic referral criteria.
If your referral is accepted we'll contact your patient with the time and date of their appointment.
If your referral is rejected we'll reply to your email with a reason for rejection.
Please make sure your referral includes the patient's:
- name
- date of birth
- NHS number
- GP details
- contact number
- brief history, including the date of injury for nose fractures, relevant swab results and date of onset for hearing loss
Emergency clinic referral criteria
We accept referrals for:
- foreign body in ear or nose (if button battery or organic matter please phone the on-call team to discuss)
- recurrent otitis externa that has not been resolved by a course of topical antibiotics, please provide an aural swab result
- recurrent epistaxis for cautery, please make sure conservative measures and 3 weeks of topical treatment (naseptin or bactroban) have been given
- uncontrolled epistaxis, please phone the on-call team to make an urgent referral
- nasal fracture for possible manipulation under anaesthetic (MUA), please include date of injury as patients must be seen in clinic within 3 weeks. If the injury is older than 3 weeks please make a routine referral to rhinology
- new onset isolated idiopathic lower motor neurone (LMN) facial palsy (Bell's palsy) with steroid treatment commenced
- sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss must be discussed directly with the on-call team to arrange a urgent hearing test and plan steroid administration
If you think that a patient with a condition outside of this list needs an emergency clinic, please phone the on-call team to discuss. If a referral is needed, please include the name of clinician who you spoke to in your referral.
We do not accept referrals for:
- longstanding hearing loss and longstanding perforation, please make a referral on e-RS to the otology clinic
- suspected cancer, please make a 2WW referral on e-RS
- globus pharyngeus, please make a referral on e-RS to the laryngology clinic
- dizziness and tinnitus, please make a referral on e-RS to the audiovestibular or otology clinic
- impacted wax for microsuction refractory to topical drops and sprays such as Earol. Please use e-RS to make a referral to the community wax service provided by Specsavers in south east London
- complex post-surgery ears, please make a routine referral on e-RS to the otology clinic
Voice clinic referrals
We accept referrals for:
- people over the age of 16
- people with intractable hoarseness lasting more than 3 weeks
- people at low risk for malignancy
- professional voice users such as:
- teachers
- lecturers
- call centre workers
- barristers
- solicitors
- singers
- actors
Contact us
Phone: 020 7188 8872
Email: [email protected]
Last updated: January 2024