Signposting and referrals
- Triage at walk-in clinics: We have a triage system in place at busy walk-in clinics to prioritise patients’ clinical needs. Some patients may be signposted elsewhere; please make patients aware that this is a possibility when signposting to a walk-in clinic.
- Procedures at walk-in clinics: Please ensure that patients are aware that procedures (implant/coil fittings/removals) are not guaranteed to take place during their initial visit to a walk-in clinic. We may be able to do the consultation and procedure at the same time, but this depends on staff availability and clinic capacity.
- Medical history/notes: If you are referring a patient to us and you have tried some medications/completed some investigations/tests, or patient has a complicated medical history it is very useful for us to have a summary of this, either a printout given to the patient or a referral letter. We will write back in return.
Time critical access for assessment
When signposting, please ensure that you are aware of the following times:
- Emergency contraception – 72-120 hours
- PEPSE – 72 hours
Services we do not offer at our clinics
- We cannot provide any contraception for non-contraceptive reasons (e.g. contraceptive pill or IUS for the purposes of controlling bleeding or solely for HRT), these patients need to be referred to gynaecology via GP
- We do not provide menopause services or issue HRT
- We do not provide genital dermatology services
- We do not provide sterilisation or vasectomy services
- We do not provide termination of pregnancy services at our clinics, for termination of pregnancy services please signpost people to BPAS (Shropshire and Telford) or NUPAS (Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent)
- We do not provide gender reassignment services at our clinics – find a list of gender identity clinics on the NHS website
- We cannot provide cervical cytology (smear testing) services; we advise that patients visit their GP for this service
- We cannot provide certificates or print outs of STI testing results
- We do not provide travel or occupational vaccinations
Non-contraceptive IUS
IUS Fittings
- We do not fit IUS for non-contraceptive reasons (e.g. heavy menstrual bleeding, HRT). This is outside our commissioned service (with exception for South Staffordshire referral-only coil clinic).
- Even if an IUS is requested for contraception, if abnormal bleeding or other gynaecology symptoms exist, it is not suitable to send the patient to our service.
IUS Removals
- We do not remove IUSs in our clinic that have been fitted in gynaecology services for non-contraceptive reasons. These patients will be signposted back to your practice.
Guidance for Primary Care Staff on Coil Removals
- This requires no certification, and there is national advice from FSRH here: FSRH Bitesize: Intrauterine contraception (IUC) removal | FSRH
IUS Referrals
If you wish a patient to have an IUS and they have had recent gynaecology investigations, please make a written referral to ishsecretaries@mpft.nhs.uk with medical history, results and hospital letters.
Please do not signpost these patients to our service without the appropriate referral information. The majority of our staff do not have access to hospital notes, and no staff members have access to GP notes.
Deep Implants
If you have identified a deep implant which needs complex removal, please make a written referral to ishsecretaries@mpft.nhs.uk with relevant medical history and investigation results.
Please do not signpost these patients to our service without the appropriate referral information. The majority of our staff do not have access to hospital notes, and no staff members have access to GP notes.
Safeguarding information
Visit our safeguarding page for information about safeguarding and sexual health, or visit the safeguarding section of the MPFT website for more information.