Refer a patient to the Haematology and Oncology department

This page includes information about how to make a referral to the Haematology and Oncology department at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). As a tertiary care hospital, all children who attend GOSH must be referred via Paediatric Oncology Shared Care Unit (POSCU) Consultants, Community Paediatricians or, in exceptional circumstances, via a GP.

Emergency Admission:
For patients that need life or limb saving treatment at GOSH within a few hours, including patients with raised intra cranial pressure, spinal cord compression, high white blood cell count or superior vena cava syndrome. Please contact the GOSH switchboard on 020 7405 9200 and ask for the Haematology or Oncology Registrar.

Urgent Admission:
For patients that need transfer to GOSH but not in emergency category, including patients with suspected malignancy or multisystem histiocytic disorder. Please contact the GOSH switchboard on 020 7405 9200 and ask for the Haematology or Oncology Registrar.

In the case of a space-occupying lesion in the head - please contact the GOSH switchboard on 020 7405 9200 and ask for the Neuro-Surgical Registrar.

All new suspected cancer referrals (emergency/non-emergency) should be discussed with the Haematology, Oncology or Neuro-Surgical Registrar.
A written referral should then follow via email or post, along with an MDS form.
All relevant imaging should be sent electronically via IEP at the time of the referral.

Via email
Oncology referrals: gos-tr.OncologyReferrals@nhs.net
Haematology referrals: gos-tr.HaematologyReferrals@nhs.net

Please note these inboxes are monitored working hours only (Monday- Friday 09:00-17:00)

Via post:
Haematology Department
Level 2, Camelia Botnar Labs
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street
London
WC1N 3JH

Oncology Department
Level 6, Southwood building
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street
London
WC1N 3JH

All requests for second opinions should be accompanied by pathology and imaging information and are discussed at the multi-disciplinary team meetings on Tuesdays (Neuro-Oncology) or Thursdays (Haematology and Oncology). Please email cancer.MDT@gosh.nhs.uk or gos-tr.cancer.mdt@nhs.net for further information

For pathway management purposes, all trusts referring a patient to the Haematology and Oncology department will be required to submit a minimum dataset form within 2 working days of tertiary referral.

Referral catchment area criteria for children with malignancies is is detailed below, however referrals may be accepted from other centres as clinically appropriate.

GOSH accepts referrals for all children under 12 months with malignancies, referred from local hospitals linked to GOSH. These can be located both north and south of the River Thames.

If the child's home address is:

North of River Thames – GOSH accepts from local hospitals linked to GOSH (see list below)

South of River Thames – local hospital should refer to Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton)

Hospital should refer to University College London Hospital (UCLH) Teenage and Adolescent Oncology Unit.

GOSH can accept referrals for patients outside of the pan-Thames paediatric oncology shared care unit (POSCU) area for treatment of retinoblastoma.

GOSH accepts referrals from the following hospitals for all children under 13 years with malignancy:

• Barnet
• Basildon
• Broomfield, Chelmsford
• Chase Farm
• Chelsea and Westminster
• Ealing
• Hemel Hempstead
• Hillingdon
• Homerton
• Lister (for patients south of the Lister only)
• Newham General
• North Middlesex
• Northwick Park / Central Middlesex
• Queen’s Hospital, Romford
• Princess Alexandra, Harlow
• Royal Free
• Royal London
• Southend
• St Mary’s, Paddington
• University College London Hospitals
• Watford
• West Middlesex
• Whipps Cross
• Whittington

GOSH only accepts referrals from the following hospitals for children under 12 months with malignancy:

• Conquest, Hastings
• Crawley
• Croydon University
• East Surrey, Redhill
• Eastbourne
• Epsom General
• Kent and Canterbury
• King’s College
• Kingston
• Lewisham
• Maidstone
• Medway Maritime, Gillingham
• Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury
• Princess Royal, Farnborough, Kent
• Queen Elizabeth, Woolwich
• Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (QEQM Margate)
• Queen Mary’s, Sidcup
• Royal Alexandra, Brighton
• Royal Surrey County, Guildford
• St George’s, Tooting
• St Peter’s, Chertsey
• St Thomas’ - Evelina Children's Hospital
• Worthing and Southlands
• William Harvey, Ashford

These hospitals should be referred to other tertiary paediatric cancer centres (in brackets):

• Basingstoke and North Hampshire (Southampton)
• Bedford (Addenbrooke's)
• Colchester (Addenbrooke's)
• Ipswich (Addenbrooke's)
• James Paget, Great Yarmouth (Addenbrooke's)
• Luton & Dunstable (Addenbrooke's)
• Lister (Addenbrooke's for patients south of Lister)
• Queen Elizabeth II (Addenbrooke's)
• Royal Berkshire, Reading (Oxford)
• Wexham Park (Oxford)
• Wycombe General (Oxford)
• Frimley Park, Camberley (Southampton)
  

The team involved in the treatment of our patients is called a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) This is a specialist multi-professional team which consists of Consultant Oncologists and Haematologists, Surgeons, Radiologists, Histopathologists, Social Workers, Nurse Specialists, Psychologists, Outreach Nurses, Pharmacists and MDT coordinators.

The members of the team meet each week in an 'MDT meeting'. The meetings can involve up to 50 professionals discussing a patient’s diagnosis, treatment plan and other needs.  Patients are often discussed on several occasions, at various stages within their treatment. The outcomes of these meetings are discussed with patients, parents and carers before the best course of action is agreed.

Centres treating patients with cancer are obligated to have MDTs, and the workings of the MDT and their meetings are continually reviewed and assessed by the process of peer review.

The neuro-oncology MDT meets on Tuesday mornings. In the meeting, patients with brain tumours are discussed. The deadline for referring a patient to the MDT meeting is 2pm on the preceding Friday.

Any outside referrals to the MDT must be discussed with the attending or on-call consultant for oncology who can be reached through the switchboard on 020 7405 9200.

The MDT Coordinator can be reached via email at: cancer.MDT@gosh.nhs.uk or gos-tr.cancer.mdt@nhs.net

The Oncology MDT meets on Thursday afternoons. In the meeting, patients with solid tumours are discussed. The deadline for referring a patient to the MDT meeting is 12pm on the preceding Wednesday. Any outside referrals to the MDT must be discussed with the Oncology Registrar who can be reached through the switchboard on 020 7405 9200.

The MDT Coordinator can be reached via email at: cancer.MDT@gosh.nhs.uk or gos-tr.cancer.mdt@nhs.net

The Haematology MDT meets on Thursday afternoons. In the meeting, patients with haematological malignancies are discussed. Any outside referrals to the MDT must be discussed with the Haematology Registrar who can be reached through the switchboard on 020 7405 9200.

The LTFU MDT Coordinator can be reached on 0207 813 8127 or via email LTFU@gosh.nhs.uk.

The long term follow-up MDT meets on the last Tuesday of the month. In the meeting, patients who are new to long term follow up and patients transitioning to UCLH or adult services are discussed.

Any outside referrals to the MDT must be discussed with the clinical nurse specialist, Kay Donoghue on 020 7813 8127 or  LTFU@gosh.nhs.uk