NHS Community services

NHS Community services (Adults)

LOCAL SUPPORT - SELF REFERRAL

SERVICES FROM BUCKINGHAMSHIRE NHS HEALTHCARE TRUST

There are a range of NHS community services, a number of which you can self-refer to including podiatry, speech and language therapy, the wheelchair service and sexual health.

SERVICES FROM other organisations

There are a number of other organisations which provide services in the community. This help can be broad such as occupational therapy, which can support you to do everyday tasks you may be struggling with. You can self-refer directly to a local occupational therapist or if you are not sure have a telephone conversation as explained below. There are also organisations providing help with specific conditions such as sexual health or smoking which you can self-refer to. Though you cannot self-refer to the MSK Bucks physiotherapy service, once under their care you can easily rearrange appointments as long as you do not miss appointments without informing them.

Self-referral further explained

You can contact and self-refer to many of the local adult community services . This is explained further by patient info Self-referral | Patient. Not all community services are included here but instead there is more of a focus on clinical services and those you can self-refer to. Other community services (including from the local voluntary sector) are often included under the relevant topic on this website.

Adult Community Healthcare Adult community healthcare – Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

  • includes contact details for different teams covering Buckinghamshire
  • Note: “Our night service is for emergencies only and the small team on duty covers the whole county.”

This excellent service does require a GP referral but once you have been referred you can then contact the team directly without needing to go through your GP practice for any district nurse related issues.

For linked practices you will also be able to find the telephone number for the district nurse team covering your practice under “contact details and self referral” , see “community teams working with the practice”.

If you wish to understand the service or feedback about the district nurse team, please contact Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS trust who are responsible for this service Community Nurses – Welcome to Buckinghamshire Healthcare. GP practices have no involvement in running this service. 

Further information

For information on simple dressings and treating minor burns, see under

Occupational Therapy (Buckinghamshire Council)

FURTHER INFORMATION

For information on other social care support, see under

Podiatry Podiatry – Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

  • Includes what common problems we treat (including painful corns and callus, ingrown toe nails and foot ulcers)
  • How to access our services (“you can self-refer by completing a referral form”)
  • Full details on “Our services”

Download Podiatry Self-Referral form: Podiatry-self-referral-form-updated

Private podiatrist

If you would prefer to self-refer yourself to a private rather an NHS podiatrist, see under

Speech and Language Therapy for Adults Speech and Language Therapy for Adults – Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust includes

  • If you have a long-term condition (such as MS, Parkinson’s, stroke or motor neurone disease) which has impacted communication you can use an open referral system (i.e., you can self-refer by contacting the service)
  • “For Dysfluency (stammering) we accept direct referrals from patients”

Appointments
From Practice Plus Group MSK, Buckinghamshire
Though you will need to see a first contact physiotherapist or GP in your practice for a referral, once the referral is completed then Practice plus deal with all ongoing issues around appointments so you should contact them directly (your GP practice are not responsible for and do not have the capacity to deal with appointment issues).  Contact us | Practice Plus Group MSK & Diagnostics

  • For Physiotherapy queries contact Practice Plus Group MSK, Buckinghamshire either by phone or email
  • For Diagnostic queries contact Practice Plus Group Diagnostics, Buckinghamshire either by phone or email
  • Alternatively, there is a contact form at the bottom of the page

You can cancel and rearrange appointments but give at least 24 hours’ notice. How to get referred | Practice Plus Group MSK & Diagnostics. If you do not turn up to appointments or do not attend a follow up appointment in the allotted time (Commonly 4 weeks) then you will likely be discharged and will need another referral. Rereferring you is time consuming for GP practices and can significantly delay your treatment, so it is better to cancel an appointment if you cannot make it and ensure you have a follow up. 

Investigations
The local MSK physiotherapy will arrange any investigations (such as MRIs if considered necessary). So, you do not need to return to your GP practice about investigations but should discuss this with your MSK physiotherapist directly. The result of any investigations come back to your physiotherapist so you should speak to them about any results. The GP practice often does not see these results.

Referrals to hospital
Only the MSK physiotherapy service can do a referral to a local hospital (e.g., orthopaedics, or pain clinic). Referrals are not commonly needed but arranging any referral should be discussed with your MSK team. Equally any issues with the appointment at hospital should be discussed with the MSK team directly, as the appointment is arranged by the MSK team, not your GP practice.

Private physiotherapy

If you would prefer to self-refer to a private rather an NHS physiotherapist, see under

FURTHER INFORMATION

For information on common conditions treated by physiotherapists, see under

Wheelchair Service Wheelchair Service – Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust
Supporting adults and children with long term mobility problems

  • Includes how to access the service through self-referral
  • What services are offered
  • How you can hire a wheelchair for a short period of time from other organisations

For support from community midwifes, see under

Though you cannot self-refer to the palliative care team, once you are under their care you can contact them directly for advice and direct support. Further information can be found under

For community sexual health services, see under

There is other community-based support which you can access directly, see under

FREQUENTY ASKED QUESTIONS

From The Queen’s Nursing Institute
District Nurses District Nurses – The Queen’s Nursing Institute

From the Royal College of Occupational Therapists
About occupational therapy What is Occupational Therapy? OT Explained – RCOT

From Buckinghamshire Council
Could I benefit from Occupational Therapy? Could I benefit from Occupational Therapy? | Care Advice Buckinghamshire

From the NHS
Occupational therapy Occupational therapy – NHS

From Patient info

From the Royal College of Podiatrists

From the NHS
Physiotherapy Physiotherapy – NHS

From Patient info
Signs you might need physiotherapy Signs you might need physiotherapy | Patient

From the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

From the Royal College of speech and language therapists
What do speech and language therapists do? Speech and language therapy | RCSLT

From the NHS 

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