Referral information

GPs can refer patients to any of our many specialities, from anywhere within the UK.  The majority of referrals come via Choose & Book but if you prefer, you can refer by sending or faxing a letter to the Trust

All referrals for Gynaecology and Maternity are managed in a Central Booking Office. Your referral will be triaged by a consultant, nurse or midwife and either accepted or re triaged to the appropriate clinic.

Patients will always receive a letter confirming their appointment and Gynaecology patients will also receive a telephone reminder call.

As a specialist Trust, we receive many referrals by letter from consultants at other hospitals.

You can find out more about our consultants and their specialties here.

Contact us

Appointments Centre
Booking Office
Birmingham Women’s Hospital
Edgbaston Birmingham,
B15 2TG

• Fax: 0121 627 2768
• Phone: Maternity – Bookings 0121 627 2651
• Phone: Gynaecology – New 0121 623 6845
• Phone: Gynaecology Follow up – 0121 623 6829

We do not currently offer any private care with the exception of Video Urodynamics at the hospital.

All patients will be asked to complete a short questionnaire to establish their eligibility to NHS funded care. A further interview will take place where there are queries and an invoice may be raised.

Maternity referrals will be triaged by a midwife.  Dependent on the clinical history provided, your patient will be booked into a midwife led or consultant clinic.   Each booking appointment will include an Ultrasound scan (USS).  At Birmingham Women’s Hospital, demand for maternity care is great and we cap our deliveries each month.  When a month is fully booked we will ask you to refer your patient to a unit that has availability.

You can refer a patient:

• By Phone
  When you phone you will be asked a number of questions relating to the patient. Details of the information that will be requested is shown on the referral form below.
• By Fax
  A referral form is also available for you to complete and fax to the department. Double click on the attached word documents to download
  Rhesus Referral Form (.doc download)
  Detailed Fax Referral (.doc download)
  When a fax referral is received, the patient will be allocated an appointment and sent a letter. If you require confirmation that the fax has been received, and the patients appointment time you will need to phone us.
• By Letter
  For non-urgent cases you can send a written referral letter and / or a referral form. Please ensure this has all the information we require in order to allocate the patient to an appropriate clinic.

GPs can refer patients to our gynaecology service. You can use Choose & Book or by sendingor faxing a letter to the Trust for any of the following.

• Uro Gynaecology
• Colposcopy
• Gynaecological Oncology
• Hysteroscopy
• EPAU
• Acute Gynaecology Clinic

GPs can refer patients to our gynaecology service. You can use Choose & Book or by sending or faxing a letter to the Trust for any of the following.

• Pregnant patients with Pelvic/back pain related to pregnancy
• Ladies with continence related issues

Referrals will only be accepted from health professionals in writing. You may also wish to download one of our family history forms to give directly to your patient, if appropriate.

Urgent referrals, for example during a pregnancy, can be seen within a few days at Birmingham Women’s Hospital – please mark such referrals as urgent.

Please provide as much information as possible in your referral letter including;

• Patient’s contact details and NHS number
• Medical history
• Any known family history (including names if known)
• Copies of relevant investigations
• If there are language or learning difficulties
• Any pertinent social issues

We also offer healthcare professionals a telephone consultation service (between 9am and 5pm on weekdays).  Outside these hours there is an answer phone service.

Referrals for Inherited Cancers:

West Midlands Family Cancer Service
Clinical Genetics Unit
Birmingham Women’s Hospital
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TG
United Kingdom

Telephone: 0121 607 4757
Fax:              0121 623 6949

Referrals for all other conditions:

Clinical Genetics Unit
Birmingham Women’s Hospital
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TG
United Kingdom

Telephone: 0121 627 2630
Fax:              0121 627 2618

If you are sending a sample to us for testing please download the appropriate referral form here. Right click on these links and choose ‘Save Target As….’ to download Adobe Acrobat (PDF) versions of referral forms:

Cytogenetics referral form

Molecular referral form

Please ensure samples and packaging comply with BWH Trust policy

Referrals are made by GPs or other medical doctor; patients can walk-in to the EPAU or be referred via an Accident and Emergency department.

Please contact the patient access team in the outpatient booking office on 0121 623 6845 if you have any queries or would like to enquire about your referral or appointment time.

If a baby requires emergency care at another hospital the West Midlands Newborn Transfer Service (WMNTS) is the dedicated service designed to move babies safely between neonatal units and children’s hospitals in the West Midlands.

All the staff have been specifically trained to transport critically ill babies.  The team uses equipment which is similar to that used on the neonatal unit but which has been specially designed for transport.

The team works 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

In addition, the Neonatal Call Centre – 0121 626 4571  operates 9am-5pm Monday to Friday and during those hours will assist with locating a maternal or neonatal bed for South West Midlands Maternity & Newborn Network (SWMMNN) or Staffordshire, Shropshire & Black Country Newborn and Maternity Network (SSBCNMN) hospitals.

Outside these hours the table below gives the most up-to date information on bed availability in the region and hospitals will need to contact the units directly.

Please do not call the WMNTS number to enquire about cot availability.

To obtain cot availability for Central & Maternity Newborn Network please ring 0300 300 0038

If you are referring a patient to Radiology please include the clinical indication, information for the ultrasound/Xray/MRI/CT on the request form being requested and signed by the Consultant/GP requesting the examination.
Tel: 0121 627 2680 or Fax: 0121 627 2616.

Couples seeking fertility treatment will need to have had a semen analysis sample taken within the last 6 months. The centre will see same sex couples.

The Fertility Centre is based within an NHS hospital and is not a private clinic.
We are not able to offer private appointments. If you are referring a patient for self-funded or fee-paying treatment, please state this in your letter.

If you would like to refer a patient for fertility investigations/treatment at Birmingham Women’s Fertility Centre please write to us at
Appointments Centre
Booking Office
Birmingham Women’s Hospital
Edgbaston Birmingham,
B15 2TG
If you would like clinical advice from the fertility team call us on 0121 627 2700.