GP Referrals

Lymphoedema and Lipoedema Services

Ideally all patients with lipoedema should be referred by their General Practitioner (GP)  to a local lymphoedema specialist where they can be assessed and treated with appropriate conservative treatments such as compression garments. 

UK Lymphoedema services are inconsistent and a post-code lottery, as a considerable number of CCG areas have no provision for Lipoedema or Lymphoedema patients at all and some have been suspended during the current Covid 19 crisis.  Some NHS Lymphoedema clinics accept out of area and private patients for diagnosis and treatment.  

Tertiary Referral Clinics

St Georges Hospital Trust, Wandsworth, London

Patients cannot self refer to Georges Hospital’s Lymphoedema Clinic.

The clinic provides a routine NHS service for adults and children in Wandsworth, London suffering from lymphoedema and chronic oedema of all types. In addition the clinic treats patients with lipoedema, lipo-lymphoedema and related conditions. Patients are offered appropriate investigations and advice on treatment.

To access the specialist lymphoedema services of Georges Hospital, from outside Wandsworth, a referral letter is required and must come from a hospital consultant. The clinic will not accept direct referrals from a patient’s GP.  The best route is to consult your own GP for advice on referrals in your area.

If a St Georges consultant sees a patient on a private basis, they can only treated at St Georges within the NHS service on a private basis;  the patient cannot be offered an NHS appointment. The only exceptions to the above are:

1. GPs within Wandsworth CCG  can refer directly into the service.

2. Non-private Lymphoedema Clinics can refer directly into the service.

Newly referred patients are offered appointments within the Government’s Waiting List initiative.

Posted Referrals should be addressed to: Dr Kristiana Gordon, Lymphoedema Department, Dermatology, St George’s Hospital, Blackshaw Road, London, SW17 0QT.

St. George’s Hospital do not have direct access to funding for liposuction. Funding requests for liposuction should be made by a patient’s GP to their own to Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) on an individual basis. 

 

University Hospitals of Derby & Burton

Patients cannot self-refer to the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton Lymphoedema Clinic. 

To access the specialist lymphoedema services of University Hospitals of Derby and Burton, please discuss this with your GP. Referrals from your GP can be sent via post to the following locations where the clinics are held. 
  • Lymphoedema Service – Clinic A – Florence Nightingale Community Hospital, London Road, Derby, DE21 2QY 
  • Lymphoedema Service – Long Eaton Health Centre, Midland Street, Long Eaton, Nottingham, NG10 1RY 
  • Lymphoedema Service – Clinic 10 – King’s Mill Hospital, Mansfield Road, Sutton-in-Ashfield, NG17 4JL