Referral contacts
For referral queries, please contact a member of the thoracic surgery team.
Who can refer
Patients can be referred by their GP or a physician from their local hospital.
Who can be referred
We are one of the UK's largest tertiary referral centres for thoracic surgery. As such, the department has a very wide catchment area, welcoming patients from Kent, East Sussex and Berkshire as well as south east London.
We run outreach clinics, where patients may see a thoracic surgeon locally, in Reading, Ashford, Brighton, Canterbury, Medway and Maidstone.
How to refer
Referrals from other hospitals must include a completed Inter-Provider Minimum Data Set or ensure that one is sent within 48 hours of referring a patient.
Referrals should be sent by email to the individual consultant's secretary or to gst-tr.thoracicsurgeryreferrals@nhs.net.
Team approach
Meetings are held twice weekly with radiologists (x-ray specialists) and oncologists (cancer specialists) to discuss complex cases.
For patients whose risk of surgery may be high, exercise and respiratory testing (CPET) is performed to further assess their risk.
Post-operative, pain relief is important, and each day the pain team review post-operative patients to minimise any discomfort.
Mobility is also crucial and a team of physiotherapists are involved in getting patients moving after surgery. Although exercise machines are used informally, a gymnasium area with cardiovascular machines is being planned, to help with patient mobility and rehabilitation.