Temporary changes to Gynaecology services
01/04/2019
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There are temporary changes to Gynaecology referrals to Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) from Monday 1 April until Sunday 30 June 2019.
Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has written to all local GPs who refer patients to OUH to outline the changes.
During this three-month period we will not be accepting referrals from GPs for the following gynaecological conditions:
- Pelvic pain
- General gynaecology
- Urogynaecology
- Endometriosis
- Menopause clinics
From 1 April to 30 June 2019, GPs are being asked to refer patients with these conditions to other hospitals outside Oxfordshire and to independent hospitals providing gynaecology services.
We will continue to accept referrals from GPs for the following gynaecological conditions:
- Suspected cancer two week waits
- Recurrent miscarriage
- Fertility
We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to patients during this time.
We asked Oxfordshire CCG to divert most gynaecology referrals to other hospitals for three months from 1 April because of capacity challenges, which we are tackling.
Progress has been made in reducing the number of women waiting long periods for surgery, but outpatient appointment waiting times are still a significant challenge. It is hoped that this temporary diversion of most, but not all, gynaecology referrals from OUH to other hospitals will reduce outpatient waiting times as much as possible.
Sara Randall, Acting Director of Clinical Services at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Patient care is our main priority at the Trust, which is why we've taken this temporary measure to make sure women are seen in a more timely fashion. This measure doesn't apply to all gynaecology referrals. Women who need to be seen urgently because of issues such as suspected cancer will still be referred to and seen at OUH.
"However, we also acknowledge that we need to tackle these issues longer-term. We are investigating increasing activity around gynaecology services, including increasing the capacity in our operating theatres in the Women's Centre, expanding the gynaecology team, and working with the CCG to expand community-based gynaecology care."