I am a GP in Tower Hamlets

Rapid Response Team

The team provides urgent assessment, treatment and care within the person’s home in order to prevent ED attendance and/or hospital admission.

Hours: 8:00 to 20:00 (7 days a week, including bank holidays)

Our Referral Criteria

• Over 18 years old
• Resident in Tower Hamlets
• Acute illness or delirium
• Acute palliative care needs
• Exacerbation of behaviour or psychological symptoms of dementia   
• In crisis requiring intervention within 2 hours to stay safely at home/usual place of residence and avoid admission to an acute hospital

How GP can make referral 

Gp can refer through EMIS using the template 'Single Point of Access CHS Referral TH CEG (RP) v5' 

Gp can call our triage number as below

Contact details for GP to discuss referral 

Phone: 07710 066161

Important: If you are unable to make with contact us please call SPA on 0300 033 5000

The aim of the continence service is to promote continence, improve or achieve continence and to manage incontinence for anyone whom is experiencing bladder/ bowel dysfunction. 

Our Referral Criteria 

• Over 18 years old
• Resident in Tower Hamlets
• Urinary and/or faecal Incontinence 
• Please state whether the patient is housebound or able to attend appt at Mile End 

How GP can make a referral

Gp can refer through EMIS using the template 'Single Point of Access CHS Referral TH CEG (RP) v5' 

Pad Prescription Only Required:

If patients need to re-order their pad please ask them to call 0800 030 44 66.

If discharged from the NHS supply chain, please ask the patient to call the continence service 0207 771 5795

Contact details to discuss a referral

Telephone: 0207 771 5795

Email: elft.th.continence.service@nhs.net

Important: If you are unable to make with contact us please call SPA on 0300 033 5000

Macmillan Cancer Care Navigation

We offer personalised coordination and navigation support for people with cancer who:

• Have very complex health and social care needs
• Are vulnerable and isolated
• Need proactive ongoing support close to home
• Live in Tower Hamlets and are aged 18 years and over.

How can we help?

Our navigators:

• Have personalised conversations to assess people's wider support needs
• Co-produce a care plan with the person, focusing on their needs
• Coordinate care and support with other professionals as a team around the person - including the GP and hospital teams
• Provide people access to urgent information, advice and support in the community
• Enable people to take control, be independent and manager their health.

How GP can make referral 

Gp can refer through EMIS using the template 'Single Point of Access CHS Referral TH CEG (RP) v5'  

Contact details for GP to discuss referral 

Email: elft.macmillan-carenavigation@nhs.net

Telephone: 0300 033 5000

Care Navigation

The Care Navigation service provides support and coordination for patients who have complex health and social care needs as well as patients and carers who are struggling to navigate the health and social care system. 

The Care Navigator will undertake a home visit and carry out an holistic assessment. The patient will be asked about their health and social care needs and other issues such as housing, safety and financial concerns.  

Our Referral Criteria

• High intensity user of acute services who do not meet criteria for social care intervention
• Frequent visits to GP and/or request for home visit
• Complex care needs including end of life care
• Patients who self-neglect or at risk of neglect and hard to engage
• Patients who could be taught to self manage
• Patients with social issues that impact on health eg environmental or housing issues
• Any patient with cancer diagnosis who would benefit from holistic care navigation - see separate service 

How GP can make referral 

Gp can refer through EMIS using the template 'Single Point of Access CHS Referral TH CEG (RP) v5'  

Contact details for GP to discuss referral 

Email: f.colley@nhs.net 

Phone: SPA on 0300 033 5000 and ask for the Care Navigation Service 

Our Referral Criteria 

• Housebound patients

• Insulin treatment, Enoxaparin injections, Eye drops, Pain patches, B12 injections, EPO injections, Warfarin monitoring, IV antibiotics therapy, pressure ulcer management, pressure relieving equipment

• Wound care, Negative Pressure (VAC) Dressings, Leg Ulcers, Pressure ulcer management, Lymph-oedema management, palliative care/end of life care

• Drain site care, chemo disconnection/PICC line care

• Bowel care – enema/suppository

• Re- catheterisation

• Blood tests if patient on active case load – form and bottles need to be in patients property

How GP can make a referral

Gp can refer through EMIS using the template 'Single Point of Access CHS Referral TH CEG (RP) v5' 

Contact details to discuss a referral

Phone:  0300 033 5000 request for call to pass to Triage and assessment team

Email: elft.triageandassessment@nhs.net

Awaiting content 

Our Referral Criteria 

• Housebound patients
• Transfer issues – bed/bath, chair and inability to stand for prolonged periods
• Functional and environmental assessment,
• Equipment assessment with clear goals of rehabilitation

Exclusion Criteria

• We do not accept referrals for equipment only with no rehabilitation goals.  Separate referral has to be sent to Social Services:
• Tower Hamlets Connect - enquiry@towerhamletsconnect.org or call 0300 303 6070 for major adaptation i.e. wet floor shower, stair lifts

How GP can make a referral

Gp can refer through EMIS using the template 'Single Point of Access CHS Referral TH CEG (RP) v5' 

Contact details to discuss a referral

Phone:  0300 033 5000 request for call to pass to Triage and assessment team

Email: elft.triageandassessment@nhs.net

Our Referral Criteria 

• Housebound patients
• Mobility/mobility aid assessment
• Falls assessment, falls prevention
• Stairs assessments

Exclusion criteria

• New/recent strokes, Parkinson’s, Motor Neuro disease, Huntington’s disease and other progressive degenerative Neuro conditions.
• We do not accept referrals for wheelchair assessments.

How GP can make a referral

Gp can refer through EMIS using the template 'Single Point of Access CHS Referral TH CEG (RP) v5' 

Contact details to discuss a referral

Phone:  0300 033 5000 request for call to pass to Triage and assessment team

Email: elft.triageandassessment@nhs.net

The Triage and Assessment team triages all referrals into the Extended Primary Care Teams (EPCT) service for District Nurses, OT, PT and Care Navigator.

We also complete initial holistic assessments for patients borough wide requiring nursing input that are not active to the District Nursing Caseload.

If you are not sure which service would best suit your patient's needs, please contact us to discuss 

Contact details for GP to discuss referral 

Telephone: 0300 033 5000 and ask for Triage and Assessment team 

Email: elft.triageandassessment@nhs.net

All referrals should be made via EMIS.

Tower Hamlets Foot Health Service

Urgent: If your patient has an emergency, we run an Emergency Clinic Mon-Fri (excluding bank holidays) at Mile End Hospital, Foot Health Department. To ensure treatment they must be present at 8.30am to be booked in.

Emergency conditions would include; discharging wounds, infections, swollen / inflamed areas or ingrowing toe nails. Routine nail care ; callous and corns will not be treated.

We can help with a range of conditions which affect foot health such as Diabetics with foot complications, circulatory conditions or congenital deformity. The service treats those with high risk conditions which affect the foot. 

Top five not accepted foot health referrals:
1. Diabetics with painful peripheral neuropathy or burning sensation to feet
2. Anyone with a verruca or fungal infection
3. People with rheumatoid arthritis affecting their feet requiring musculoskeletal
assessment or insole therapy
4. People with plantar fasciitis, heel pain, digital deformities or bunions
5. Anyone requiring an internal or external heel raise for a leg length discrepancy

Download Foot Health Referral Criteria

Download the Non NHS Provider List for routine foot and nail care and non eligible issues.

To discuss a referral, please contact:

Telephone: 0207 771 5775

Email: BHNT.Foothealth@nhs.net

All referrals should be made via EMIS.

Frailty Assessment Team

The Older Person's Clinic offers advice, guidance, investigations, treatment, and onward referrals if needed.

The purpose of the clinic is to improve outcomes for older adults by reducing avoidable hospitalization, providing comprehensive old age assessment, plan individually tailored interventions and support patients to be cared for in their own home/communities.

GPs can refer their patients to OPC or advice and guidance via e-referral service.

Referral criteria for patients:

• resident of Tower Hamlets London
• over 65 years old
• has multidisciplinary needs:
• Physical frailty
• Deteriorating complex co morbidities
• Recurrent emergency attendances
• Polypharmacy
• Difficulty with managing ADL`s
• Mobility problems
• Multiple falls
• Cognitive and mood issues

To discuss a referral, please contact:

Telephone: bhnt.opc@nhs.net

Email: Geriatrician of day number - 45799

All referrals should be made via EMIS.

Long COVID Service

The Long COVID Service are primarily a virtual service, providing specialist multidisciplinary assessment to patients who are experiencing Post-COVID syndrome/Long COVID symptoms that have persisted longer than 12 weeks from the initial Covid-19 infection.

The service will provide an initial assessment and then decide on the most appropriate therapy pathway. This may involve in-house therapeutic options or onward referral to other support services. Whilst the service has medical input, it is a therapy led service and primarily staffed by AHP’s.

Referrals are accepted from the GP only and need to be sent via EMIS/Email, using the Long COVID referral form (available on EMIS and can also be obtained by emailing the service if needed).

To discuss a referral, please contact:

Telephone: 0207 909 3676

Email: longcovid.elft@nhs.net

All referrals should be made via EMIS.

Tracheostomy Service Page

The service offers specialist advise and treatment to support the alerted airway patient, family, care givers and community teams with regard to the specialist management required for patients living in Tower Hamlets.

Please refer via email.

Referral Criteria: over 18 patients with an altered airway (tracheostomy or laryngectomy) living in Tower Hamlets 

To discuss a referral, please contact:

Email: Hannah.mcdonald3@nhs.net

Phone: 07917 599881 

This is open and functioning well, providing blood tests when needed and administering clozapine with appropriate checks

The service is made up of three teams, Community Health and Wellbeing, Mental Health and Positive Behavioural Support, and Transition teams and they all continue to operate. They are accepting referrals and maintaining contact by telephone, all patients considered to be vulnerable have been identified for telephone support. The teams are seeing patients face to face if there is no other means of managing their care or associated risks. Liaison work is underway to support families and supported accommodation with managing challenging behaviour and safeguarding concerns. 
Please email the referrals or Duty team if you wish to discuss a referral or ask for advice:
elft.thclds@nhs.net
ldduty@towerhamlets.gov.uk
Or Tel: 0207 771 5500

The Autism Diagnostic Service continues to accept referrals and are undertaking telephone assessments. Please email or telephone the service to discuss a referral or for advice:
Elt-tr.Tower-hamlets-autism-service@nhs.net
Or Tel. 0203 487 1312

Community Mental Health Services

The four Community Mental Health Teams, Perinatal Mental Health and Tower Hamlets Early Intervention Service are still operating. They are accepting urgent referrals and triaging patients by telephone.  Patients under CPA care are receiving contact by telephone and all patients considered to be vulnerable are being identified for telephone support. The teams are only seeing patients face to face if there is no other means of managing their care or associated risks. 

Please call or email the relevant team if you wish to discuss a referral or ask for advice.

Enhanced Primary Care Service

The service has reduced to a duty system due the redeployment of critical staff. This service is not currently open to new referrals. All routine face to face and more recently telephone consultations have been cancelled and patients have been advised of support lines should this be required.

Crisis line continues to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For crisis enquiries please continue to call the 24-hour Crisis Line on 020 7771 5807.

We have opened a Crisis Hub to avoid unnecessary contact with RLH Emergency Department.  Patients requiring emergency mental health assessment will be directed to the Crisis Hub as an alternative to A&E if they do not have physical health needs. Referral should be via mental health liaison as usual or the Crisis Line.

Tower Hamlets Crisis Hub
Albion Annex
333 Whitechapel Road
London E1 1BU

The Tower Hamlets Home Treatment Team continues to operate 7 days a week however the service is prioritising support to the inpatient service to run safely. The team is carrying out some face to face contacts e.g. to supervise/administer medications and for risk and Safeguarding concerns. The Crisis Therapy Service continues to operate a reduced service operating by telephone.

The Crisis House run by Lookahead in partnership with ELFT remains open (though with reduced capacity due to building works). It cannot accommodate COVID positive patients

All our inpatient wards are open and functioning with reduced occupancy to support social distancing.  Staff are wearing required PPE and we are cohorting patients who are positive for Covid19 to care for them separately from patients without Covid19.  We have temporarily moved some of our consultants and medical staff on to each wards to reduce transmission between wards.  To keep occupancy low and to limit the risk of contracting Covid on our wards, we are working hard to use alternatives to admission such as Home Treatment Team, Crisis Response team and increased Community support in CMHTs wherever possible. There is no visiting to wards and patients have limited access to leave as per the National lockdown guidance.​

The CMHT for Older People and the Diagnostic Memory Clinic are continuing to operate and are currently functioning as one combined service.  The service is accepting urgent referrals, with triage and assessment conducted by telephone.  Referrals for cognitive testing are considered non-urgent and all memory assessments have been placed on hold until further notice.

The service is providing support by telephone for most vulnerable service users.  The teams are only seeing patients face to face to administer depots, to provide practical support for the most isolated, and for those where there is no other means of managing their care.  The service maintains strong lines of communication with the borough care homes, including the extra care sheltered accommodation, providing intensive long arm support.

The Integrated Care mental health Liaison team are still offering support to the integrated care cohort, but please email referrals to Elft.th-mhcop-spe@nhs.net rather than the locality nurse.

If you would like to discuss a new referral or ask for advice then please call the team on 020 3738 7000 or email elft.th-mhcop-spe@nhs.net

Accepting referrals

Both therapy services are providing telephone support for service users open to their service.  They have identified those most vulnerable and make regular contact providing a crisis type intervention.  They will reopen to urgent referrals for therapeutic interventions in the coming weeks, and are exploring ways of offering online group and 1:1 therapy, as well as ways for service users to draw on existing resources to support themselves and each other.

Tower Hamlets Talking Therapies

THTT are functioning remotely and welcoming referrals. Dedicated resources are provided for patients with Covid-19 anxiety. 

Website

The service continues to provide support for service users in Tower Hamlets needing assessment under the Mental Health Act. The team has temporarily relocated to The Robinson Centre, Mile End Hospital, Bancroft road, London E1 4DG. Telephone referrals on 0203 738 7002 or 7036 or send an email to TowerHamletsAMHPservice@towerhamlets.gov.uk