ABSTRACT
Once you have referred a patient to a specialist it may be a long time until that person is seen, and even longer until you receive a letter from the consultant. It is very easy to forget that you have referred someone after a couple of months have elapsed. In order to keep abreast with their referrals, some GPs keep a notebook on their desk in which they write down the patient’s name, the date, the reason for referral and the specialist referred to as soon as they have dictated their referral. Whenever a hospital letter arrives, it is then easy to tick the relevant entry in the notebook. In this way it is possible to check at regular intervals whether a patient has been seen, and you could then try to speed things up if necessary.
