Neurology and neurophysiology

COVID-19 and Neurology/ Neurophysiology referrals

In common with most other specialties, we are changing the way we work over the next few months and, in particular, who we see in outpatient clinics.
As most chronic neurological conditions can be seen routinely, referral for such conditions should be deferred until the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic has settled. We therefore plan to restrict outpatients to urgent referrals and ask that you do not refer patients who do not need to be seen urgently.

When making referrals it is vital your referral is sufficiently detailed to allow us to triage and vet appropriately.
All referrals will be vetted using the following criteria:
Neurophysiology – no referrals will be accepted.
Episodic or chronic headaches, with no red flag features – no referrals will be accepted.
Chronic focal neuropathies, e.g., carpal tunnel syndrome, and peripheral polyneuropathy – no referrals will be accepted.
Chronic degenerative neurological conditions, e.g., dementia, Parkinson’s disease referrals to be deferred until the pandemic has passed
Deteriorating patients under Neurology follow-up, e.g., myasthenia gravis or multiple sclerosis relapse – urgent notification to responsible consultant deal with by initial telephone consultation
First seizure – continue to refer for urgent remote (telephone or video) consultation
New progressive neurological symptoms meeting requirements for 2 weeks wait – continue to refer; to be seen in the emergency clinic. Please be explicit in the reason for urgent referral.
New progressive neurological symptoms not meeting requirements for 2 weeks wait – continue to refer for urgent initial remote (telephone or video) consultation. Please be explicit in the reason for urgent referral.
Emergency patients requiring inpatient care – telephone through to the on-call neurology team; some may be seen in the emergency clinic to avoid admission