SJH Emergency Medicine
The following diagram is copied from the November 2022 NHS Lothian pathway for patients who have an acute neurosurgical pathology, who are at SJH (or another hospital ED), who are at risk of deterioration.
Neurosurgery referrals
Warning
Non-emergency (i.e. where immediate intervention will not change patient management) neurosurgery referrals should be made by TRAK. Please read the neurosurgery TRAK referrals guide on how to do this.
Emergency referrals should still be made over the phone.
As of 30/9/2022, it has been noted that sometimes the referrals are not being made correctly by TRAK. Here are some top tips to ensure things are working well:
- Check if TRAK is creating a questionnaire at the same time as the referral order is made
- The TRAK team suggest that if it doesn't you can "save as draft" and come back to the order to see if creates the questionnaire
- Please ensure that questionnaires are closed after making a referral so that the neurosurgeon team can update the dialogue and respond
If you feel that the TRAK order has not gone through, it is worth reverting to contacting the neurosurgery team directly for patient safety
Some SAH intervention is shared between Edinburgh and Glasgow. For referrals it's best to contact the DCN team first, before speaking to the QEUH team.
However if you need to speak to the QEUH registrar urgently, please call 01414518929. If the registrar is on the phone you need to keep dialing until they are free. In life-threatening cases, if you are unable to contact the registrar, the QEH switchboard can put you through to the neurosurgical consultant.