Refer to us

We work with many different organisations in support of delivering our services to NHS patients. Below you will find useful information to help your patients access our NHS services as well as relevant information for our commissioners and collaborators, both current and future.

How to refer

We accept referrals from all NHS England Integrated Care Board areas. Please refer as needed to your local policy on referral pathways.

In line with NHS guidelines, all referrals must be made using the e-referral service. Should you need any support in making a referral please get in touch by either calling 03330 100 362 or emailing ihg.referralsandenquiries@nhs.net.

Our clinics on the e-referrals service can be found under the categories detailed below;

	Clinical Term	Speciality	Clinic Type
Hernia Service	Type of Hernia e.g inguinal etc OR just Hernia	Surgery not otherwise specified	Hernia
Hand Service	Procedure e.g. Carpal Tunnel, Trigger Finger	Orthopaedics	Hand & Wrist
Vasectomy Service	Procedure Vasectomy	Urology	Vasectomy
Podiatric Service	Procedure e.g. Bunion	Orthopaedics	Podiatric Surgery OR Foot & Ankle
Cataract Service	Procedure Cataract	Ophthalmology	Cataract

Please ensure that under appointment type “routine” is selected for all services.

Exclusion Criteria

As a provider of local anaesthesia procedures, our exclusion criteria are very few. Please see the list below for more information.

General

• Any local anaesthetic allergy
• Any latex allergy
• Implantable defibrillator
• 2 week wait referrals for cancer care
• Patients aged <18 years
• Patient weighing over 135Kg
• Patients who are detained under the Mental Health Act or are experiencing an acute psychotic episode.
• Patients being detained by Her Majesty’s Prison Service, where security arrangements are deemed not to be appropriate.
• Patients unable to transition from chair to consultation couch/chair without the aid of a hoist.
• Patients on warfarin unable to stop pre-operatively without the need for bridging therapy.

Foot specific

• Day case regional anaesthesia service. No in-patient care.
• No responsible adult to look after patient for first 24 hours

Hernia specific

• Laparoscopic hernia repair and inpatient stay not provided.
• BMI >35
• Irreducible hernia
• Bilateral hernia
• Not able to lie flat
• No responsible adult to look after patient for first 24 hour

Performance

Referral to Treatment within 18 weeks: average 93.8% of our patients are treated within this expected timeframe

We meet our 6-week target for accessing Diagnostics to further support patients when required as 100% achievement

Duty of Candour: This is based on our expectation to act in an open and transparent manner with those we treat. We have had no breaches year to date.

The NHS Friends and Family test was created to help service providers like us and NHSE to understand whether patients are happy with the service we provide and where we might need to make Improvements. We are delighted to report that 92.3% of patients responded between January and March 2024, with 100% recommending our service.

Partners

Partners

At Independent Health Group we have built a reputation on being able to provide efficient services that offer value for money to the NHS without compromising on patient care, and delivering on our values.

We are dedicated to working closely with the NHS, Referrers and Commissioners to support awareness and improve the standards of healthcare for the conditions we treat. Through supporting service development and pathway design, and creating an integrated delivery network we strive to achieve exceptional services in collaboration with our partners.

Independent Health Group are currently working in partnership with a range of NHS Commissioners and are always interested in hearing from organisations looking to develop collaborative and integrated healthcare solutions.

If you are interested in hearing more about Independent Health Groups services, organising an education event, or working together, please contact our Service Development Team on inhg.contact@nhs.net.

FAQ

What is our CQC rating?

What services are available?

Who are your clinicians?

What are the average waiting times?

Quality Account

How do I get in touch?

What after care will my patients receive?

After the procedure, every patient has access to our service by telephone if they have questions or concerns following their treatment. Independent Health Groups approach to aftercare is a combination of face to face follow up, Patient Initiated and non-face to face (for example telephone). This ensures only patients with a clinical need return in person to our service for review, with clinicians sharing responsibility with the patient in their care when they need advice or support.

Can I speak with a clinician directly?

What are your exclusion criteria?

As a provider of local anaesthesia procedures, our exclusion criteria are very few. Please see the list below for more information.

General

Foot specific

• Day case regional anaesthesia service. No in-patient care.
• No responsible adult to look after patient for first 24 hours

Hernia specific

What our patients say

We strive to obtain feedback from every patient we treat to support our practice of putting patients first and achieving excellence through continuous improvement.

How likely are our patients to recommend our service to their friends and family if they require similar care or treatment?

From April 2023 to March 2024 99% of patients said they would recommend our services; see full results here.